NSA Center for Spy Data Suffers Electrical Failures

By Chris Strohm, Bloomberg News

Oct 8, 2013 12:00 AM ET

A $1.2 billion data center being built in Utah for the National Security Agency to house U.S. intelligence secrets has been plagued by electrical failures, according to an agency official.

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The causes of the center’s problems, which include 10 electrical meltdowns in the past 13 months, have destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of machinery and delayed the its opening by a year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Giant NSA Data Center Won’t Stop Blowing Up

By Adam Martin, New York Magazine

10/8/13 at 12:29 AM

The N.S.A.’s enormous new data storage center in Bluffdale, Utah, will eventually blow up (in the cell phone sense of the phrase) with quantities of data thought to be thousands of times larger than the printed collection of the Library of Congress. But first, its builders must figure out how to stop the machines inside from literally blowing up in electrical surges. … “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.” Each arc failure, the most recent of which happened Sept. 25, has caused up to $100,000 in damage, according to The Journal. And the site’s builders and managers can’t agree on exactly what’s causing them or how to fix it.

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(A) statement from the joint venture of construction contractors said “the causes of those problems have been determined and a permanent fix is being implemented.” But a report by an investigative “Tiger Team” in the Army Corps of Engineers said the fix was inadequate. “We did not find any indication that the proposed equipment modification measures will be effective in preventing future incidents.” It said the causes of eight of the meltdowns hadn’t been determined.

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So far, the Tiger Team is unconvinced the contractors know how to fix this, writing that the problems “are not yet sufficiently understood to ensure that [the NSA] can expect to avoid these incidents in the future.” When it’s finally up and running, the data storage center is expected to be bigger than anything operated even by Google (though its exact size is classified). Until then, it’s more like a zettabyte-sized headache.

Well, there goes my prediction of Sox in 3.  It was a squeaker that shouldn’t have come down to a 2 Out Walk Off Solo Shot by Jose Lobaton.  The Rays shouldn’t even have been flirting with extra innings.

The big blow was the Longoria 3 Run Homer in the 5th.  Then they got ahead in the 8th, making Morales pay for a Leadoff Walk.  The Sox tied it up in the 9th but could have taken the lead with an insurance run if they hadn’t left Ellsbury stranded at 3rd after a spectacular steal with a Carp pinch hit KO.  Pinch Hitters never come through, ever.

Tonight Jake Peavy (12 – 5, 4.17 ERA R) takes the field against Jeremy Hellickson (12 – 10, 5.17 ERA R).  Now it seems that everyone in Stars Hollow is a rabid Red Sox fan except me and that’s because I’m mostly indifferent to teams that play Rounders instead of Baseball.  I would caution my friends not to get too excited about that full point of ERA advantage.  Peavy has a much better team behind him and that can make even a bad Pitcher look good.

I confidently predict we shall visit the Green Monster and worship the Great God Citgo again, the only question is whether it will be Thursday @ 5:30 pm ET or in the League Championship.

Miss yesterday?  Well, you didn’t miss much if you’re a Tigers fan.  Though it was only a three run margin, by comparison with the single score victories in the previous two games the Athletics crushed them.

The big blow was of course in the 5th inning with Brandon Moss’ Solo Shot and Seth Smith’s 2 Run Homer so you could argue that it’s just two bad pitches, but worst of all from a Detroit standpoint is they gave back home field advantage and now they have to win out to advance.

Oakland will be putting up Dan Straily (10 – 8, 3.96 ERA R) against Doug Fister (14 – 9, 3.67 ERA R).  Don’t let the slightly better stats fool you, as recently as August 28th the Athletics lit Fister up for 7 runs and 13 hits.  If the Tigers win we will head back to Oakland County Coliseum on Thursday @ 9 pm ET.  Tonight’s game starts @ 5 pm on TBS.

Economic Confidence Craters As Shutdown, Income Stagnation, and Poverty Roil Americans

By: DSWright, Firedog Lake

Tuesday October 8, 2013 10:32 am

We are now in day 8 of the federal shutdown and it seems Americans are rapidly losing faith that the powers that be can turn the economy around. Confidence in the economy has deteriorated more in the past week than in any week since Lehman Brothers collapsed on Sept. 15, 2008.

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And why not? Is there any evidence the economy is turning around for the vast majority/99% of Americans? No.

If anything the shutdown has jarred people awake to the fact that poverty and income stagnation remain at record levels. If things remain as they are we will continue to have massive inequality and little hope of social mobility. The economy is broken for most Americans which even the New York Times is recognizing as seniors are now falling back into poverty.

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To recap the state of affairs – the government is shutdown and the economy is rigged for the rich. Now tell me the Koch Brothers lost the 2012 election, seriously, I need a laugh.

As Citigroup proved long ago, an economy run for the benefit of the rich or “plutonomy” is economically sustainable. But is it politically sustainable? Are the vast majority of Americans going to accept slavery and poverty from plutocrats and their extremist attack dogs in Congress?

Kathleen Sebelius’ Incoherent Defense of Obamacare’s Design on The Daily Show

By: Jon Walker, Firedog Lake

Tuesday October 8, 2013 10:03 am

When pressed on the Daily Show why Democrats went with a Rube Goldberg health care plan instead of single-payer, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ incoherent defense was that tje Republicans called even this “market based” plan super socialism.

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Sebelius sarcastically responded to Stewart’s question about single-payer by saying, “As you know we are facing the end of Western Civilization by having a market based strategy. We are bringing Western Civilization to its knees by selling private insurance plans on a website where people pick and choose.”

I have heard this same basic argument made by several defenders of Obamacare. The point is “look at how badly Republicans flipped out over this conservative law, so imagine how bad they would have flipped out over single-payer.” The problem is this argument makes no sense because, as Sebelius points out, the Republicans already turned their freakout dial to 11. They can’t going any higher. There is nothing worse than the end of “Western Civilization.”

This is not an argument against going to single-player, this is an argument for why you should have gone for single-payer. If the Republicans are going to completely freak out regardless, there is no reason to compromise. The political response from the GOP will be the same.

This highlights why the Democrats are having such a hard time selling the law. Early on they chose to go with bad design to buy off the big industry lobbyists, but they planned to blame the bad design on needing to get Republican votes for a great compromise. When Republican refused to play along it left Democrats holding the bag. Democrats had pro-lobbyists laws, but they don’t want to publicly say they made the law needlessly complex to make lobbyists happy. So the administration is still trying to use the original excuse they planned – even though it now doesn’t make sense.

The Dodgers can put the Braves away today at Dodger Stadium and that would be just fine by me.

On Friday Atlanta won a close one.  Dodgers scored in the 1st off a Walk and an RBI Double.  Brave answered in the 2nd with a Single, a Sacrifice, and an RBI Double.  Braves got ahead again in the 4th on a Leadoff Double a Sacrufice, and an RBI Single.  Braves took the lead for good in the 7th with a leadoff Walk, a Single, a 2 Out Walk, and a 2 RBI Single.  The Dodgers’ attempted comeback in the 8th was 1 Run short, off a Leadoff Walk and a 2 RBI Home Run.  Braves 4 – 3, Series tied at 1.

Sunday the Dodgers dominated at home after falling behind in the 1st to the Braves who had a 1 Out Double, a 2 Out RBI Single, a Walk, and another RBI Single.  In the 2nd the Dogers started to put it away, Single, Single, Walk to load them, 2 RBI Sacrifice, 2 RBI Home Run.  Braves answer in the 3rd with a Single, a Single, a 1 RBI Sacrifice, an RBI error, then an inning ending Double Play.  The Dodgers added to the misery in their half with a Leadoff Double, an RBI Single, an error and an RBI Single.  There was a meaningless Wild Pitch.  The bats remained silent unti the Dodgers 8th, HBP, 2 Out Walk, RBI Single, RBI Single, RBI Single.  Too little too late for the Braves in the 9th with a 1 out Single and a 2 RBI Home Run.  Dodgers 13 – 6, lead the Series 2 – 1.

Today the Dodgers send out Ricky Nolasco (13 – 11, 3.70 ERA R) to put the Braves away.  They counter with  (1 – 2, 1.65 ERA R) who’s only pitched 13 innings to ‘earn’ his spectacular ERA.  Game starts at 9:30 pm ET on TBS.

This Series may not go much father either if the BoSox can put it away on the road at Tropicana Field, the last domed stadium in the Majors.

Friday the Sox fell behind the Rays in the 2nd on a solo shot and went 2 down in the 4th after another.  The Sox came roaring back in the Bottom of the inning on a Single, a Double, a 1 Out 2 RBI Double, a 2 Out RBI Single, a 2 Out RBI Double, a Passed Ball that should have ended the inning, and another RBI Single.  Not that it mattered much, the Sox put the nail in the coffin in the 5th with a 1 Out Double, an intentional Walk, a 2 RBI Double, another intentional Walk, and a 2 Out RBI Single.  Amazingly the Rays left Moore in there until the 8th when the BoSox added 4 more meaningless runs on a Single, a Steal, an RBI Single, another Single, a Walk, Walked in a Run, an RBI Double Play, and an RBI Single.  Red Sox 12 – 2, lead Series 1 – 0.

Saturday Boston was pretty much just as dominant.  They scored 2 in the 1st on a Single, a Steal and an error, a 1 Out RBI Sacrifice, and a solo shot.  They never lost that lead.  In the 2nd the Rays got 1 back with a Walk, a Single, and an RBI Sacrifice.  In the Sox 3rd there was a Leadoff Double, an RBI Double, a Single, a RBI Sacrifice, and an inning ending Double Play.  In the 4th they added another on a leadoff Walk, an error, and an RBI Triple.  The Rays pulled within 2 in the 5th with a Double, a HBP, and a 2 RBI Double.  The Sox answered in the Bottom of the 5th with a Single and an RBI Double.  The Rays scored their last in the 6th on a Single, a Sacrifice, and an RBI Single.  The BoSox padded their score with a Run in the 8th with a solo shot.  BoSox 7 – 4, 2 – 0 for the Series.

The Sox will be sending Clay Buchholz (12 – 1, 1.74 ERA R) against Alex Cobb (11 – 3, 2.76 ERA R) who is playing against his home town team.  The game is at 6 pm ET on TBS.

Time to put up the rally squirrel-

The Cardinals are in a bad way.  With the Pirates’ 7 – 1 victory on Friday at Busch Stadium they gained home field advantage and that puts them in position today to close out the Series at PNC Park.

Friday Gerrit Cole threw 99+ mph fireballs into the 6th inning with the sole blot a solo shot by Yadier Molina in the 5th and a meaningless 1 Out Double by Beltran in the 1st.

On the other hand the Cards sucked early and often starting in the 2nd when Cole helped his own cause with an RBI Single.  The Pirates scored again in the 3rd with a 2 RBI Homer by Alverez and added 2 more runs in the 5th on back to back 1 Out Doubles that chased Lynn and an RBI Single off Marness.  They completed their scoring with a 2 Out RBI Single in the 7th and a solo shot in the 8th.  7 – 1 Pirates, Series tied at 1.

Sunday at PNC Park Pittsburg got off to an early 2 – 0 lead in the 1st with a 1 Out Walk, a Single, a runner advancing error, and a 2 RBI Single.  The Cards tied it up in the 5th with a Single, a Walk, a 2 Out Double Steal, and a 2 RBI Single.  The Pirates took the lead again in the 6th witha lead off Walk, a meaningless 1 Out Double, an intentional Walk, and an RBI Sacrifice.  The Cards tied it up again in the 8th with a solo shot, but the Pirates put it away in the Bottom of the 8th on a Double, a 1 Out Walk, and 2 RBI Singles.  5 – 3 Pirates who lead the Series 2 – 1.

Today it’s win or go home for the Cardinals away at PNC Park.  They will be sending Michael Wacha (4 – 1, 2.78 ERA R) who almost threw a No-No against the Nationals in his last start against Charlie Morton (7 – 4, 3.26 ERA R).  In his last start against the Cardinals he injured his left foot.

This game will be broadcast at 3 pm ET on TBS.

Rule #1- Never take untested equipment on the road.  It will fail and you won’t have the tools you need to fix it in the field.

So what do we know after this weekend?  Detroit got a split in Oakland  which is a bigger deal than it seems because they now have home field advantage, needing only 2 games at Comerica Park to advance to the Junior League Championship Series.

At that it could have been better. In Game 1 Max Scherzer looked pretty unbeatable until Yoenis Cespedes hit a 2 RBI Home Run in the 7th.  Detroit’s damage was already done with 3 runs in the 1st (Leadoff Double, HBP, RBI Single, Double Play (runner advances), RBI Double).  Some people say Oakland threatened to tie it up in the 8th, but a 1 Out Walk does not a threat make.  Detroit 3 – 2, 1 – 0 in the Series.

Everyone expected great things from Justin Verlander (only 20 game winner in the Majors this seaon) but he got trapped in a boring Pitcher’s Duel with the unheralded rookie Sonny Gray.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  But he got pulled for Smyly in the 8th and in the bottom of the 9th Smyly loaded them up and was replaced by Porchello who promptly gave up the walk off, game winning RBI Single in what was a ‘must win’ for the Athletics.  Oakland 1 – 0, Series tied at 1.

Today Anibal Sanchez (14 – 8, 2.57 ERA R) faces Jarrod Parker (12 – 8, 3.97 ERA R) in the 1 pm ET game which will be carried exclusively on MLB Network which kind of sucks if you’re a fan and don’t get it.  The best I can offer you is the New York Times Gameview as a poor substitute.

I have to be forgiven for having the Sox as my sentimental favorite, I live in the heart of Sox country.

That said I’m not a Yankee hating Sox fan.  First the Junior League plays a game more similar to rounders than to cricket and second, I flat out admire the Yankee commitment to winning.

Boston is clearly superior to the Rays in every respect and I suspect this will be a lopsided affair.

The Sox will be sacrificing Jon Lester (15 – 8, 3.75 ERA L).  Lester went all wobbly in the middle of the year but seems to have settled in now.  He’s won 7 of his last 9.

The Rays will counter with Matt Moore (17 – 4 3.29 ERA L) who has a walking problem.

And then there are the Red Sox bats.

The Great God Citgo says Sox in 3.

Meta

So here’s the deal- I’m away.  TheMomCat is also away.  Consider these Open Threads rather than live blogs.  I’ll come back later and fill in the inning by inning detail.  Don’t be afraid you’re jumping the Tip Jar.

I don’t need mojo here.

Senior League Division Series: Pirates @ Cards Game 2

There is no denying the Pirates got a good thumping last night, but as a Manager you say “Just a W.  We’ll kick their ass today.

Well, will we?

The Cards looked very strong, just as you always do in a 9 – 1 rout.  The Pirates had other flaws besides the melt down of A.J. Burnett, they also committed 3 errors. Carlos Beltran seemed like the reincarnation of Reggie Jackson, but Reggie wasn’t that good either.

Today they put up Lance Lynn (15 – 10, ERA 3.97 R) against Gerrit Cole (10 – 7 3.22 ERA R) So it looks more even.  Remember, if you can steal a single victory in the away park it gives you an advantage going on.