#virginia process servers

[probablyasocialecologist]

The flotsam and jetsam of our digital queries and transactions, the flurry of electrons flitting about, warm the medium of air. Heat is the waste product of computation, and if left unchecked, it becomes a foil to the workings of digital civilization. Heat must therefore be relentlessly abated to keep the engine of the digital thrumming in a constant state, 24 hours a day, every day. To quell this thermodynamic threat, data centers overwhelmingly rely on air conditioning, a mechanical process that refrigerates the gaseous medium of air, so that it can displace or lift perilous heat away from computers. Today, power-hungry computer room air conditioners (CRACs) or computer room air handlers (CRAHs) are staples of even the most advanced data centers. In North America, most data centers draw power from “dirty” electricity grids, especially in Virginia’s “data center alley,” the site of 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic in 2019. To cool, the Cloud burns carbon, what Jeffrey Moro calls an “elemental irony.” In most data centers today, cooling accounts for greater than 40 percent of electricity usage.

[...]

The Cloud now has a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry. A single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes. At 200 terawatt hours (TWh) annually, data centers collectively devour more energy than some nation-states. Today, the electricity utilized by data centers accounts for 0.3 percent of overall carbon emissions, and if we extend our accounting to include networked devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets, the total shifts to 2 percent of global carbon emissions. Why so much energy? Beyond cooling, the energy requirements of data centers are vast. To meet the pledge to customers that their data and cloud services will be available anytime, anywhere, data centers are designed to be hyper-redundant: If one system fails, another is ready to take its place at a moment’s notice, to prevent a disruption in user experiences. Like Tom’s air conditioners idling in a low-power state, ready to rev up when things get too hot, the data center is a Russian doll of redundancies: redundant power systems like diesel generators, redundant servers ready to take over computational processes should others become unexpectedly unavailable, and so forth. In some cases, only 6 to 12 percent of energy consumed is devoted to active computational processes. The remainder is allocated to cooling and maintaining chains upon chains of redundant fail-safes to prevent costly downtime.

[roosterforme]

Right Girl, Wrong Time Part 1 | Bradley Bradshaw x Reader

Summary: Beer Boy and Sugar may have spent years apart, but their ten year college reunion proves they have always been part of the same equation. 

Warnings: Fluff, swears, and angst. Eventual smut. 18+ only

Length: 3100 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader (former fuckboy college student Bradley)

This is a sequel to accompany my story Old Habits Die Hard (you'll want to read that one first)!

Check my profile for my masterlist

It was kind of funny to you when you thought about it. Everyone from your graduating class was flooding back to the University of Virginia for your class reunion, but you'd been here pretty much every single day for the past six years.

You hadn't planned on ending up right back where you started after graduating from the University of Chicago with your PhD, but things never usually went as you planned.  

"Big ten year reunion for you tomorrow night," said Veronica, your closest friend from work. "Are you excited?" You and she were sitting at a small table in a trendy bar near campus.

You just shrugged and swirled the last sip of your beer around in your pint glass. "Honestly? Not really. I haven't kept in contact with that many people I graduated with, and I probably wouldn't be going if I wasn't already living in town."

You pictured your cute rental house with the crooked fence and crumbling front step. It was only a few blocks from where you had lived your senior year. 

"I'm sure you'll have fun!" Veronica said with a grin. "And if everyone sucks, you can rub it in that you have your PhD from one of the most prestigious programs in the country. And that you were published in Mathematics of Tomorrow when you were only twenty two." 

You laughed. "I think you are overestimating how many people I plan on talking to. Maybe I'll see someone I know, but I'm just going for the free drinks and dinner, and then heading home."

"Yeah, you better head home early! Head home and make a decision for the fall! You are the only person I know who has ever been offered a tenure track at six colleges at once!"

You just waved your hand. "I have it narrowed down to Miami and San Diego. The other offers were kind of bogus, to be honest."

"Either way, you'll be somewhere warmer than Chicago," Veronica said with a shrug.

"I will cheers to that," you said, tipping your nearly empty pint of beer to her nearly empty glass of chardonnay. "Now, I need to run home before I meet this guy John for a second date."

Veronica made a face and shook her head. "That's the most generic name ever. And he sounded boring when you described him."

You just sighed. "Well, he was boring, but giving someone a second chance never hurt anyone."

You waved down your waiter for the check and handed him cash for the drinks. 

"Want to walk out with me?" Veronica asked, checking the time. 

"You go ahead, I'm going to use the ladies' room before I head out. See you on Monday?" 

"I can't wait to hear all about your class reunion!"

You just shook your head and waved over your shoulder as you went to use the restroom. When you finished washing your hands, you glanced in the mirror. You were having such a good hair and makeup day, it was almost a given that you'd look like a clown or a wet dog for the reunion tomorrow night.

You straightened out your short, blue dress and headed for the bar exit. You ducked past a server who was carrying a tray of drinks, almost bumping some of the patrons seated at the bar in the process. 

But as you walked past the guy sitting on the end, you slowed down a little bit. Even from behind, you knew he was going to be handsome. He had broad shoulders and thick, wavy brown hair. Just what you liked. 

Just what you'd loved, actually. Since college.

You tucked your hair behind your ear and glanced at him as you turned toward the door, but you stopped dead in your tracks.

The scars. You knew those scars by heart. You'd touched his cheek and his neck so many times, you'd be able to describe them in your sleep. You'd thought about his face more than you should have. You'd thought about his body next to yours. You'd imagined what could have been.

But now Bradley Bradshaw was right in front of you, leaning his forearms against the bar and watching sports highlights while he played with the label on his beer bottle. 

Only now he was all grown up. 

"Beer Boy?" you asked softly, and he spun in his seat to face you so quickly it made you smile. 

He just gaped at you, his eyes softly searching your face and dipping down as far as your neck before he licked his lips and grinned.

"Sugar."

Your belly swooped, and you were afraid you actually gasped out loud. His voice was even deeper than you remembered. You took a step closer to him, and his grin lit up his eyes. God, you could remember everything with him. Every bittersweet feeling came flooding back.

"I can't believe it's you." A giggle escaped your lips as you spoke, and his grin faltered a bit as his eyes landed on your lips. 

He had a mustache now, and his hair was a little shorter than it was ten years ago. And he was so big and impossibly handsome. 

"It's me," he said, his eyes flicking back up to yours. "And I guess you really are Doctor Sugar now?"

"Yes," you said before you bit your lip, remembering how many times he had called you that. 

He shook his head, and that crooked grin was back. "Chicago was lucky to have you."

You felt your cheeks grow warm as his eyes roamed your face. He looked good. He looked so fucking good. 

"You're still in the Navy?" you managed to ask as you inched ever closer to him. He turned his stool a little more to face you, his legs splayed apart with one hand resting on his thigh.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I'm Lieutenant Bradshaw these days."

You looked him up and down in his fitted pants and black tee shirt that really hugged his chest and biceps. "I can just picture you in your uniform."

When your gaze settled on his face again, you saw hunger there that had you squeezing your thighs gently together. 

"I wear a flight suit a lot of the time," he said in the raspiest tone you'd ever heard from him.

You pressed your lips together before you whispered, "You're just so much bigger now. You really filled out." 

Part of you recognized that you should be embarrassed at saying that, but it felt like no time had passed at all. It felt like all those years ago you had turned back around, climbed back in bed with him and told him you never wanted to break up, ever.

"Yeah, I guess basic training will do that to a guy," he said casually, but his eyes were making you feel so warm. "Can I buy you a drink, Sugar?"

The fact that nobody had called you Sugar in the past ten years was not lost on you, but nothing had ever felt more right. You had missed him, thought about him frequently, too. Especially during those years you spent in Chicago.

"Yeah," you agreed with a slight nod, praying you weren't about to embarrass yourself. "As long as your girlfriend doesn't mind." He wasn't wearing a ring, but you needed to know for sure. 

He just smirked. "Well, yeah, she would have absolutely minded if I was buying drinks for my beautiful ex-girlfriend. But we broke up two months ago, so I'm single."

"I see," you said, trying to bite back your smile, but you knew he was onto you. 

"So what are you drinking?" he asked, already raising two fingers toward the bartender to get his attention.

"The good beer," you said softly. 

And then Bradley turned toward you with a longing look that reminded you of ten years ago. "You still remember everything, Sugar?" he asked, his brows scrunching together as he took a deep breath and waited for you to answer.

"Everything," you confirmed with a nod. 

"Another beer for you?" the bartender asked Bradley before he turned toward you as well. 

"Make it two. Please," Bradley confirmed, and you shifted a little closer to him. 

When the bartender returned with two bottles, Bradley shifted on his stool to stand.

"Have a seat," he told you, but you placed your hand on his very muscular chest and stopped him.

"No, stay where you are," you told him, pushing him gently back down. When he eased himself back against the stool, you tucked yourself closer so your hip was nudging the inside of his knee. "Is this okay?"

"Yep," he said, quickly grabbing both of the beers and handing you one. "It's okay," he added as his cheeks started to grow pink.

When he shifted around in his seat, his leg rubbed against you, and you needed to start a new conversation to keep from moaning. 

"You're in town for the reunion?" you asked quickly.

"Yeah," he confirmed after taking a sip of beer. "I was in Virginia for work. It made sense to try to stop by. Where are you living these days?"

You laughed, and it seemed to make him more comfortable. "Like six streets over. I'm working at UVA."

"No way," he said with another grin. "You're teaching here?"

"Yeah, but only for another couple of weeks. I'm trying to decide between two tenure positions."

"Which schools?" he asked softly, and you couldn't help but think he kept intentionally bumping you with his knee. 

"University of Miami and San Diego State."

His eyes went wide as he sucked in a short breath. "That's great," he told you, looking at you in awe now. "I still can't believe you teach math to a bunch twenty year old guys."

"Why not?" you asked with a laugh. 

Bradley turned his head to face the bar and took a long drink of beer. He gave you side eye and said, "I would have died if you were my math teacher, Sugar. Trying to teach me calculus, looking like that? Please, I'd have failed the class."

"What? Why?"

"Come on," he said, turning fully back and giving you a playfully annoyed look. "You're just as gorgeous as you were ten years ago. Maybe moreso. I mean...you filled out, too."

Your mouth was hanging open and your heart was pounding erratically. 

"But at least your students don't know about your math tattoo. So I guess they don't have it so bad. Me on the other hand? I wouldn't last a minute in your lecture."

"Bradley," you gasped, but he just kept his eyes on you while he finished his beer.

Your phone started vibrating in your clutch purse which you were gripping tightly in your sweaty hand. You set down your beer and pulled it out to see that John had been texting you.

"Shit," you muttered, and Bradley adjusted himself in his seat again, eyes still on you. 

"You need to go?" he asked, and it sounded like he was dreading the answer. 

"I...just need to send a quick text, actually," you replied, setting your purse down on the bartop and frantically typing back to John. "I'm just going to cancel my plans."

When you lowered your phone and set it down on your purse, he asked you, "Are you seeing someone then?"

"No," you replied quickly. "It was just a second date." You would have canceled plans with anyone to stay here longer. 

Bradley's grin was slowly creeping back. "Did you just cancel a date for me?"

You scoffed playfully. "Yeah, but he was boring anyway."

"That'll never do. Not for you. You deserve the best."

You looked at him carefully, letting your palm rest on his knee. "Is that why I had you?"

"Hmm," he hummed teasingly. "I would assume so." 

You just stood there for a minute, barely moving at all, except for your fingertips moving against his muscular thigh. "I missed you. When I was in Chicago," you whispered, and he was nodding right away.

"I missed you, too. Had a hard time at first. I thought about you a lot."

"I thought about you all the time," you replied, your heartbeat picking up in tempo again. 

Bradley nudged you a little closer with his knee, and you willingly went. "I still think about you sometimes," he whispered.

You sighed softly, and he sat up a little straighter, his face closer to yours. You felt like you could melt against him, if you thought that was a good idea. Which it was not.

A loud group of college students entered the bar and made their way toward the crowded tables, jostling you and bumping your butt in the process. You stepped further into Bradley's personal space to make room, bumping both of his thighs with your hips. 

His sharp intake of breath and slow exhale had you meeting his eyes and withdrawing your hand from the top of his thigh.

"No," he told you, grabbing your hand and then gently pressing it where it had been. You looked down and saw you were standing precariously close to him; if you moved your hand just a little bit, it would be on his zipper. "It's okay," he murmured, bringing his hand to your hip. 

This felt very good.

"I like your mustache," you told him, blurting out the first idiotic thing that came to your mind. Of course you liked it. He looked great with it. You weren't even aware you actually liked facial hair before this moment.

"Thanks," he said softly, and his eyes grew wider as you brought your other hand up to run your fingers along his mustache. His lips parted, but he didn't move otherwise.

"You couldn't grow one of these in college," you told him with a laugh. 

"No," he replied, his lips skimming along your fingertips. "Would have looked ridiculous."

Your soft laughter seemed to spur him on as his huge hand wrapped around your hip and settled on your lower back. 

Oh god, you wanted him. So badly. You needed him. You had never stopped feeling this way about Bradley Bradshaw.

------------------------------

Bradley had often wondered what it would be like to see you again. At first the idea of it haunted him; it was the only thing he wanted, but he figured it was never going to happen. 

Then as he got older, thoughts of you would jump into the forefront of his mind when he least expected it. He always figured you were doing everything you wanted to do. He thought you would be married by now. He was absolutely certain you would have found someone better than him. 

But you made him better. He grew into a man because of you. Every girlfriend he had since you broke his heart should have honestly written you a thank you letter.

But the crazy thing was, Bradley wasn't surprised in the least that he still felt a connection to you right now. His heart was leaping in his chest, elation pouring through his body. 

Your beautiful face was a few inches from his and you were touching his mustache. Your other hand was on his leg, and he couldn't seem to stop himself from guiding you closer with his palm on your lower back. Your gaze was still sharp, and you were just as witty as he remembered. And you were so perfect, he never wanted to stop looking at you.

"Maybe your mustache would have looked ridiculous ten years ago, but it looks good now," you told him. He wanted to kiss you. He thought he was going to, when you added, "You look so handsome."

"You're fucking gorgeous, Sugar," he told you, and he was treated to a radiant smile as your fingers rubbed the end of his mustache and trailed along to the faded scars on his cheek. "You always have been."

You were softly sighing as you examined him. 

"You look like you want to ask me something," he told you, and you nodded the tiniest bit.

"Yeah," you confirmed with a soft laugh. "But I'm scared."

"Don't be scared. Just ask." He would be honest with you, no matter what you asked him.

"When you think about me... what do you think about?"

A montage of images rushed through his mind, and he swallowed hard. Your lips parted with a little gasp like you just knew some of his thoughts on the matter were completely filthy. 

His cock was getting a little hard as he let his mind settle on the first time he got you off. "I think about that study room, Sugar. And how cute you looked in my bathrobe. And I think about how effortlessly you made me want to change my ways."

Bradley started to close the distance between you, and you cupped his cheek as your lips brushed his in the softest kiss.

"Beer Boy," you whispered, nudging his lips with yours again. But you were already pulling away as he was trying to get closer. 

Then you asked, "Do you want to know what comes to my mind when I start thinking about you?"

"Tell me."

You licked your lips before you said, "I think about your Navy desk lamp. And I think about your bedroom door. Nobody else has ever done anything like that for me."

Bradley kissed your lips nudging your nose with his. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Sugar." 

You threaded your fingers through his hair, and Bradley was absolutely aching for you now. He wanted to take you to his hotel room. He wanted to make you feel so good. 

You had your hand incredibly close to his cock as you looked him in the eye and said, "And when I think about you, Bradley, I think about the fact that nobody else has made me cum as good in the last ten years."

"Shit," he groaned, growing harder by the second as you sighed and moved your hand higher.

Bradley had to take your hand in his to stop you. But it was your wide pupils that had him shifting his right knee so it rubbed against your core. 

You sucked in a deep breath and gasped, gently grinding yourself against him as your eyes drifted closed. 

"Sugar," he groaned. "Please tell me you're coming back to my hotel room."

------------------------

Ahhhh!!!! They are back! Seemingly picking up right where they left off! Thanks @mak-32 and @beyondthesefourwalls.

PART 2

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[airas-story]

Your college au is phenomenal! Can we please have another installment?

For the rest of the college installments, check out the series.

“You never asked why I was interested in Psychology.”

Stephen blinked, momentarily confused, before he remembered how he and Tony had met. “Tony, you want to know everything. I didn’t think psychology was particularly special in any regards.”

They were in the small house that Tony rented with Rhodey. Tony had said he wanted to show Stephen something, but they’d gotten distracted greeting each other properly. Stephen couldn’t help but hope the long distance thing didn’t last longer than it took for them to graduate, but they had never talked about that. 

“True enough,” Tony acknowledged. “But there was a reason, this time.”

“Oh?”

“Experimental psychology,” Tony said. “The scientific investigation of basic psychological processes such as learning, memory, and cognition in humans and animals.”

“I know what experimental psychology is,” Stephen said, laughing. “You came to my psychology class.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Anyways, that thing I wanted to show you all month. You ready?”

“Always.”

He followed Tony as they climbed to the top floor, set apart for Tony’s projects. Tony pulled him to the room furthest down where a bunch of computers were set up. “Had to buy a server farm in Virginia to make this possible,” Tony was saying. “Don’t tell Obie, he’d be upset about the investment, but it was my own money.”

“Make what possible?” Stephen asked.

Tony’s eyes shone with anticipation. “Stephen, meet Just A Rather Very Intelligent System.”

“Hello, Mister Strange,” came a voice from one of the computers. “Sir, has told me a great deal about you.”

Stephen glanced from Tony to the computer. 

“I haven’t even showed Rhodey yet,” Tony said. “I wanted you to meet him, first. I call him JARVIS.”

Stephen knew he didn’t understand, not fully, but… he understood enough. “It’s an honor to meet you, JARVIS.”

[haggishlyhagging]

The images of woman as object, not as active agent or creative autonomous subject, ensure that women remain on the outside, that women's voices are not heard. As history describes the doings of men, as fine art is the art created by men, as literature is writing produced by men, and as classical music is that composed by men, so the science, the news, the art, the literature, the music of today is that produced by men. The patriarchs are adamant that this should be so. The conductor, Sir Thomas Beecham, pronounced, “There are no women composers, never have been, and never will be.” John Ruskin confidently declared “No woman can paint.” And Swinburne claimed that, “When it comes to science we find women are simply nowhere. The feminine mind is quite unscientific.” Virginia Woolf's ponderings on the (im)possibility of ‘Shakespeare's sister’ who might have wanted to write, characterize the position of women in the creative sphere. As Tillie Olsen illustrates, in her now classic text, Silences, woman's voice has been absent from the world's creative arena for centuries. Unfortunately, it seems as if it still is.

But why are women so silent in the scientific, professional or creative spheres of life? The traditional reductionist argument, rehearsed earlier, is that women are somehow unable to think, to paint, or to write because of affinity with nature and lack of intellect. Or is it rather that we are not allowed to, through the systematic exclusion of women's work in the public sphere, or through the maintenance of women's work in the home the maintaining of women as servers, as the 'angel in the house', rather than as active creators of artistic discourse? Is it that women are producing creative material, but it is being systematically ignored? For there are many who profit from the reification of the male creator and the simultaneous reduction of women's creativity to the sphere of childbirth, as this extract from a misogynistic male critic illustrates:

A few years back I read a neo-feminist's approving review of another neo-feminist's book. The reviewer said that she agreed with the author that for a woman, a career is more creative than being a mother. That puzzled me: without having given much thought to it, I had assumed that about the closest the human race can get to creation is when a woman bears a child, nurtures him, and cares for him [sic]. (Himmelfarb, 1967: 59; my emphasis)

If women can believe that childbirth is unsurpassable as a creative act, perhaps they will put down their pens and their paints, cease thinking and continue breeding. Is it a coincidence that the male pronoun is used to refer to the product of female creativity? Is it as creative to produce a female child? Or is this yet another comment produced without having given much thought to it?

The reason for women's absence on the world stage of creativity is not biological inferiority, nor an absence of desire to create beyond the realms of the family. The real reasons for the silence are not very difficult to discern; nor are the effects. Take the case of art, as many feminist scholars recently have, rewriting the history of art through a feminist prism. Our Old Masters and masterpieces - the art which fetches astronomical prices, elevating the artist to an almost godlike status, his creativity seen to be drawn from some higher power - are all the work of men. The history of art is peopled with men, not women. The male artist is the hero; the female artist is invisible. The woman is present only as the object of the artist's gaze, to be consumed, to be frozen and framed, to be possessed. Feminist analysis has identified the way in which women's voices and women as active agents have been suppressed; the way in which women are destined 'to be spoken' (in Lacanian terms) rather than to speak. It is the same process that silences talent, as recent texts on the 'forgotten' women artists, scientists, or authors has shown. It is produced by a systematic suppression - a systematic oppression - achieved by promoting and validating the work of men whilst ignoring, or denying the existence of, the work of women.

Whilst women writers from Aphra Behn to Mary Wollstonecraft have been rediscovered by feminist literary scholars and feminist publishers, many others have not. Many women never had the time or opportunity to publish - and their voices will never be heard. Many women remain silent, following in the painful footsteps of our foremothers who never have the time or legitimacy for reflection and creation. It is moving to consider how many brilliant voices have not been heard, how many brilliant careers have been thwarted. As Olive Schreiner reflected:

What has humanity not lost by suppression and subjection? We have a Shakespeare; but what of the possible Shakespeares we might have had who passed their life from youth upward brewing currant wine and making pastries for fat country squires to eat, with no glimpse of freedom of the life and action necessary even to poach on deer in the green forests; stifled out without one line written, simply because of being the weaker sex, life gave no room for action and grasp on life?

In addition to marginalizing women, and ensuring that we cannot find a voice with which to declare our anger, our desperation, or our fears, the images can be seen to have a more invidious function in that they objectify women. They ensure that we have few role models to turn to for inspiration. We expect to be confined and constricted. We expect to serve men. Is it any wonder that we despair, that we cry out, that we are mad? And if the woman herself was not treated as mad for daring to be creative, she may have been driven so by the restrictions upon her. It is an insidious double bind: women who do attempt to create may be vilified for their talent, and for their temerity in daring to speak out. Whether a woman's creativity is an expression of inner conflict and turmoil, or merely a desire for self-expression, it is in danger of becoming the tool which condemns, a centuries-old process, as Virginia Woolf eloquently shows:

.. any woman born with a great gift in the sixteenth century would certainly have gone crazed, shot herself, or ended her days in some lonely cottage outside the village, half witch, half wizard, feared and mocked at. For it needs little skill in psychology to be sure that a highly gifted girl who had tried to use her gift for poetry would have been so thwarted and hindered by other people, so tortured and pulled asunder by her own contrary instincts, that she must have lost her health and sanity to a certainty. (Woolf, 1928: 48)

The feminist martyrs, diagnosed as mad, 'treated' by patriarchal experts, and (often) destroyed by their own hands, have fuelled arguments that madness is protest, an expression of thwarted creativity. And within a culture which refuses to recognize women's creativity (except in the area of motherhood) it is argued that its frustration leads to madness. Phyllis Chesler opens her book, Women and madness, with a testimonial to four such women, Elizabeth Packard, Ellen West, Zelda Fitzgerald and Sylvia Plath. In her description of their madness as 'an expression of female powerlessness and an unsuccessful attempt to reject and overcome this state', Chesler argues that the experiences of these women symbolize the oppression of women's power, women's creativity - an oppression with fatal consequences (Chesler, 1972: 16). Her argument - that the inability of these women to express themselves, their silencing by men, has led to their madness and their suicide - has obviously struck a chord in the hearts and minds of many women. Their icons and heroines are women like Sylvia Plath, women seen as victims of the individual men who thwarted their intellect, as well as victims of a society which sees women, not as active subjects, but as objects. When we read Plath's words, ‘Dying/Is an art, like everything else./I do it exceptionally well,’ a chill hand clutches the heart: although many would like to emulate her creativity, they fear the fate that befell her. We must, however, be careful not to glorify these women, raising them to the status of martyrs, for, as Tillie Olsen demonstrates, suicide is rare among creative women. What is undoubtedly more common is the slow creeping frustration, the inability to think, to breathe, to work at anything other than the daily grind. For women's creativity is not frustrated only by the structural barriers provided by the male-dominated academies and universities, and the male publishing houses, but also by the lack of time. For if male writers such as Hardy, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Joseph Conrad can share this experience described by Conrad, how must it be for the woman whose main task is the care of her children, her husband, her home?

I sit down religiously each morning, I sit down for eight hours, and the sitting down is all. In the course of that working day of eight hours I write three sentences which I erase before leaving the table in despair.

It is no coincidence that 'in our century as in the last, until very recently, all distinguished achievement has come from childless women' (Olsen, 1978: 31). How many women can find time to await the visit of the muse in moments snatched between children and housework? It is a wonder that Jane Austen managed to write - hiding her papers under a blotter in her parsonage drawing room - by snatching a few lines, a few thoughts, when the scarce moments of solitude were upon her. How many others must have given up, despairing, angry and defeated?

Even those women who manage to ward off the angel in the house, and can find a room of their own, may be remembered chiefly for aspects of their personal lives, their work forgotten, and their creativity reduced to voyeuristic intrusions on their sexuality. As French says:

Whether a woman had a sex life, what sort of sex life it was, whether she married, whether she was a good wife or a good mother, are questions that often dominate critical assessment of female artists, writers and thinkers. (French, 1985: 97)

The critics who pore over men's work with an academic glee, hardly noticing their personal lives, seem unnaturally interested in the woman creator's personal habits and especially in her sexuality. This allows the creative woman to be presented as unbalanced, unnatural, and certainly not representative of women. Thus, 'Harriet Martineau is portrayed as a crank, Christabel Pankhurst as a prude, Aphra Behn as a whore, Mary Wollstonecraft as promiscuous' (Spender, 1982: 31). Sylvia Plath, one of the foremost creative women of the late twentieth century, has been similarly treated. Biographers, commentators and critics seem more interested in her adolescent sexuality, her relationships with men during her college years, and her marriage, than with her work.

That a woman who produced brilliant poetry could also be sexual is seen to be a peculiarity. That she killed herself allows her to be seen as mad, and thus as not a normal woman. This over-concern with her sexuality and sanity detracts from her work, and is an insult to this gifted poet, and to others who might follow her. The message to women is clear - dabble with the muse, attempt to enter the male world of learning, of thinking, of creativity, and you may pay the highest price.

-Jane Ussher, Women’s Madness: Misogyny or Mental Illness?

[govindhtech]

AWS C8g & AWS M8g: Efficient High-Performance Computing

Amazon EC2 Instances

Utilize the new Amazon EC2 C8g and M8g instances to run your general-purpose and compute-intensive tasks sustainably. Today Amazon EC2 C8g and M8g instances are now widely available.

AWS C8g

High-performance computing (HPC), batch processing, gaming, video encoding, scientific modeling, distributed analytics, CPU-based machine learning (ML) inference, and ad serving are suited for AWS Graviton4-based C8g instanc

AWS M8g

M8g instances, which are also Graviton4-based, offer the best cost-performance for workloads with a generic purpose. Applications like gaming servers, microservices, application servers, mid-size data storage, and caching fleets are all well suited for M8g instances.

Let’s now have a look at some of the enhancements it has implemented in these two cases. With three times as many vCPUs (up to 48xl), three times as much memory (up to 384GB for C8g and up to 768GB for M8g), seventy-five percent more memory bandwidth, and twice as much L2 cache as comparable 7g instances, C8g and M8g instances offer higher instance sizes. This allows processing larger data sets, increasing workloads, speeding up results turnaround, and lowering TCO.

These instances have up to 50 Gbps network bandwidth and 40 Gbps Amazon EBS capacity, compared to Graviton3-based instances’ 30 Gbps and 20 Gbps. C8g and M8g instances, like R8g instances, have two bare metal sizes (metal-24xl and metal-48xl). You can deploy workloads that gain from direct access to real resources and appropriately scale your instances.

C8g AWS

Important things to know

With pointer authentication capability, separate caches for each virtual CPU, and always-on memory encryption, AWS Graviton4 processors provide improved security.

The foundation of these instances is the AWS Nitro System, a vast array of building blocks that assigns specialized hardware and software to handle many of the conventional virtualization tasks. It reduces virtualization overhead by providing great performance, high availability, and excellent security.

Applications written in popular programming languages such as C/C++, Rust, Go, Java, Python,.NET Core, Node.js, Ruby, and PHP, as well as containerized and microservices-based applications like those running on Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) and Amazon Elastic Container Service (Amazon ECS), are ideally suited for the C8g and M8g instances.

Available right now

The US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), and Europe (Frankfurt) AWS Regions currently offer C8g and M8g instances. With Amazon EC2, as usual, you only pay for the resources you utilize. See Amazon EC2 Pricing for additional details. To assist you in moving your applications to Graviton instance types, have a look at the assortment of AWS Graviton resources.

Read more on govindhtech.com

[jcmarchi]

The hidden climate cost of AI: How tech giants are struggling to go green

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/the-hidden-climate-cost-of-ai-how-tech-giants-are-struggling-to-go-green/

The hidden climate cost of AI: How tech giants are struggling to go green

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As AI takes centre stage in Silicon Valley, an inconvenient truth is emerging behind the scenes: AI has a massive carbon footprint. Tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon have made bold commitments to slash greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years, but the technology they’re betting their futures on is making those climate goals increasingly challenging to achieve.

Microsoft revealed that its carbon emissions had surged nearly 30% since 2020, mainly due to the construction and operation of energy-hungry data centres needed to power its AI ambitions. Google reported an even steeper 48% rise in emissions compared to 2019. These trends highlight the growing tension between rapid AI development and environmental sustainability in the tech sector.

The root of the problem lies in AI’s immense appetite for computing power and electricity. Training large language models like GPT-3 requires vast amounts of data to be processed by thousands of specialized chips running around the clock in sprawling data centres. Once deployed, AI models consume significant energy with each query or task.

“One query to ChatGPT uses approximately as much electricity as could light one light bulb for about 20 minutes,” explained Jesse Dodge, a researcher at the Allen Institute for AI, in an interview with NPR. “So, you can imagine that millions of people using something like that every day adds up to a really large amount of electricity.”

Indeed, according to Goldman Sachs analysts, a typical ChatGPT query requires nearly ten times as much electricity as a standard Google search. As AI capabilities expand and usage skyrockets, so too does its energy demand. Goldman Sachs estimates that data centres will consume 8% of global electricity by 2030, up from about 3% today—a massive jump primarily driven by AI.

The tech industry’s intense electricity consumption impacts regional power grids and even influences decisions around fossil fuel use. Data centre operators in Northern Virginia are expected to require enough electricity to power 6 million homes by 2030. In some areas, plans to decommission coal plants have been delayed to meet surging power needs.

This puts tech giants in a difficult position as they try to balance their AI ambitions with climate commitments. Microsoft has pledged to become carbon-negative by 2030, removing more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits. That goal now appears increasingly challenging. The latest sustainability report acknowledges that “as we further integrate AI into our products, reducing emissions may be challenging due to increasing energy demands.”

Google had long touted its carbon-neutral status, achieved through carbon offsets. But in 2023, it admitted it was no longer “maintaining operational carbon neutrality” due to emissions growth. The company still aims for net-zero emissions by 2030 but called that timeline “fraught with challenges.”

Other major players in AI development, like OpenAI, have yet to disclose any emissions data, leaving the full scope of the industry’s climate impact unclear. However, Microsoft and Google’s trends paint a concerning picture.

“We have an existential crisis right now. It’s called climate change, and AI is palpably making it worse,” warned Alex Hanna, director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute, in an interview with NPR.

To their credit, tech companies are not ignoring the problem. They’re investing heavily in renewable energy, exploring more efficient chip designs, and researching ways to reduce AI’s energy needs. Microsoft says it has expanded the use of low-power server states to cut energy use by up to 25% on some machines. Google is designing data centres that it claims will use zero water for cooling.

However, these efforts are being outpaced by the breakneck speed of AI development and deployment. Every major tech firm is racing to integrate AI across their product lines, from search engines to productivity software to social media. The potential economic and competitive advantages are simply too large to ignore.

This leaves the tech industry at a crossroads. Companies must find ways to dramatically improve AI’s energy efficiency or risk undermining their climate goals and facing growing criticism over their environmental impact. Regulators and the public may also need to grapple with difficult questions about the societal value of AI applications versus their climate costs.

The coming years will be crucial in determining whether artificial intelligence becomes a powerful tool for addressing climate change or accelerates the very problem it could help solve. For now, as Microsoft’s president Brad Smith told Bloomberg, the company believes “the answer is not to slow down the expansion of AI but to speed up the work needed to make it more environmentally friendly.” Time will tell if that optimism is warranted or if more drastic measures will be needed to reconcile AI’s promise with its environmental price tag.

(Photo by Li-An Lim)

See also: Google’s dilemma: AI expansion vs achieving climate goals

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out AI & Big Data Expo taking place in Amsterdam, California, and London. The comprehensive event is co-located with other leading events including Intelligent Automation Conference, BlockX, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Explore other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars powered by TechForge here.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

We had a lot of fun this week tracking down a bug in the project I’m working on. It was exposed by slow server response, which was because the service had grown. So the bug was icky. Once we tracked it down on the client side we were able to fix it up pretty quickly. I love doing stuff like this! Finding and fixing bugs is part of any developers job along with writing code.

I hope you enjoy the links.

Natalie Venegas • Newsweek

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' rare warning during a commencement speech about former President Donald Trump, sparked outrage from supporters of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement this weekend.

People are right to continue to warn us all of the dangers of electing Convicted Felon Donald J. Trump to the Presidency.

Anyone who reads this site — thanks to both of you — knows I’m a Liberal Democrat suffering from “The Woke Mind Virus.” 😃 So of course I think a man set on destroying Democracy as we know it is dangerous.

Noah Kirsch • The Daily Beast

Now, former board member Helen Toner is explaining her decision. In a new podcast interview, the artificial intelligence researcher blasted Altman’s lack of transparency and said the board was kept in the dark about key decisions. She accused Altman of “withholding information, misrepresenting things that were happening in the company, [and] in some cases outright lying to the board.”

AI will continue to be controversial and it looks like Sam Altman will be the poster boy for the controversy, at least in the short term.

Keeping a full commercial product rollout from the board seems like a bad idea, doesn’t it? No wonder they fired him.

Mark Tyson • Tom’s Hardware

Popular TechTuber Jeff Geerling has delivered an updated take on the old chestnut about the relative merits of pigeon-based vs internet data transfers.

TL;DR - Data delivery by pigeon is still faster than the internet. 🤣

Kelly Crandall • Racer

In a joint statement issued Tuesday, Tony Stewart and Gene Haas confirmed that Stewart-Haas Racing will cease NASCAR operations at season’s end.

This is a real bummer for NASCAR fans and the sport in general. Stewart Haas had a championship team not so long ago but it’s been a long time since they’ve seen victory lane.

They have four cars on the grid. Three teams field four drivers and it’s my understanding NASCAR is going to limit team size to three going forward.

In 2016 NASCAR switched to a Charter system. In that system teams purchase a charter from NASCAR to be part of the system. Those charters are expected to grow in value so a team would have more than physical goods to sale should they decide to close shop. They’re not cheap. Spire Motorsports bought one last year for $40mm. What will each Stewart Haas charter sell for? 😳

Tuomas Pirhonen - PDF

Writing an NVMe Driver in Rust

The link above is to a PDF for Thomas Pirhonen’s Bachelors Thesis. Rust has really made inroads into systems development and I’m happy to see it. Having memory safe code at the systems level seems like a smart thing to do, don’t you think? 😃

I’d be curious to see how much unsafe code exists in the various Rust OS level projects I’ve heard of. But, you gotta start somewhere!

When will Swift be used to build major parts of Apple’s OS level code? Or is it already being used?

Cocoanetics

I’ve long had a longing to have a Mac Mini as build server in my technics room. After Apple finally updated it to (now) fashionable space grey, it was a must purchase for my company.

I’ve had a hankering to do this very thing. I can see setting up the server much in the way we see here and trigger builds via GitHub Actions to start the process. Heck, I could use Xcode’s built in support for automating builds and kick it off right from within Xcode on my laptop. Yeah, Xcode has a decent enough build system to make it useful. Makes me wonder how much of it Apple is using for Xcode Cloud or is 100% of that custom code?

Anton Zhiyanov

If you work with sensitive data, and want to be 100% sure that there is no trace of the old data after it has been updated or deleted — SQLite has you covered. The secure_delete pragma (off by default) causes SQLite to overwrite deleted content with zeros.

TIL! I’ve used SQLite in quite a few projects, including Stream. I love it for local storage and still prefer it to CoreData, it’s just straightforward SQL. Anywho, I had no idea you could do this. Another nice tool to keep in the toolbox.

JanerationX

Doctor Who returned to TV recently as a “soft reboot” to attract a new generation of viewers. Yeah, okay, but the older generations didn’t exactly go away, and since I am a member of an older generation, I am qualified to say that the show sucks.

I think we’ve all been here when we see a big change to our favorite Television show.

Heck, I’m torn about continuing to watch The Witcher. Henry Cavil is The Witcher and to see him replaced just feels wrong.

Kim Zetter • WIRED

Two years ago when “Michael,” an owner of cryptocurrency, contacted Joe Grand to help recover access to about $2 million worth of bitcoin he stored in encrypted format on his computer, Grand turned him down.

You gotta love these hacker folks. At least he’s using his talent for good.

Viktor Petersson

My Home Server Journey - From Raspberry Pi to Ryzen

What’s up with two server based links today? Guess I’m just in a very hardware mood today.

This reminds me I need to setup my $99 Mac Mini I purchased months ago. It’s an x86 based Mini and fairly old but I want it for media streaming and another local backup system.

David Price • Macworld

Those who miss the days of full-time Apple/Microsoft beef will have been heartened last week by bold claims that the latest Surface devices are faster than the M3 MacBook Air. It’s fun to see Microsoft’s marketing department in a combative mood, but part of me wishes the company would stop trying so hard to show it’s better than Apple.

I don’t know that I’d go this far. Microsoft is just trying to lead the industry into an ARM focused world by attempting to create a new standard of PC.

I’ve been on the Mac, almost exclusively, since around 2006(?) and I love the experience from a user and developer point of view.

There’s still that part of me that loves my old development days on Windows. It was also a great platform to build on.

The new Microsoft Surface Pro looks absolutely amazing and I’ve lusted for one of these computers for years. Microsoft has proven for years and years a tablet/laptop can have excellent touch support and a full desktop class OS underpinning it.

It’s only a matter of time before Apple does it. When it happens all doubt around Apple creating a convertible will disappear and folks will think it’s the greatest thing ever.

Chelsea Troy

Each quarter at the University of Chicago includes nine weeks of instruction. In the eighth week, I ask students to submit questions that they would like our ninth and final session to cover. This quarter, a third of the students in the class submitted some version of the question: “How can I use ChatGPT to get ahead in my programming job?”

I know of a lot of developers at work using ChatGPT to their advantage. It’s not that it’s doing their job, no, it’s just another tool to get started with a thought.

Jordan Tigani

The intended takeaway from the “Big Data is coming” chart was that pretty soon, everyone will be inundated by their data. Ten years in, that future just hasn’t materialized. We can validate this several ways: looking at data (quantitatively), asking people if it is consistent with their experience (qualitatively), and thinking it through from first principles (inductively).

I’m not really into backend stuff like this. It seems kind of boring but it’s good to know some folks are really into it.

Declaring something dead is a bit strange to me, because it was never a living thing, but I get the gist.

I’m sure your mileage will vary but this is a small piece worth a read just to understand his declaration.

BigData, it turns out, ain’t all that big.

[gwydionmisha]

Internet data centers are fueling drive to old power source: Coal

CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — A helicopter hovers over the Gee family farm, the noisy rattle echoing inside their home in this rural part of West Virginia. It’s holding surveyors who are eyeing space for yet another power line next to the property — a line that will take electricity generated from coal plants in the state to address a drain on power driven by the world’s internet hub in Northern Virginia 35 miles away.

There, massive data centers with computers processing nearly 70 percent of global digital traffic are gobbling up electricity at a rate officials overseeing the power grid say is unsustainable unless two things happen: Several hundred miles of new transmission lines must be built, slicing through neighborhoods and farms in Virginia and three neighboring states. And antiquated coal-powered electricity plants that had been scheduled to go offline will need to keep running to fuel the increasing need for more power, undermining clean energy goals.

The $5.2 billion effort has fueled a backlash against data centers through the region, prompting officials in Virginia to begin studying the deeper impacts of an industry they’ve long cultivated for the hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue it brings to their communities.

Critics say it will force residents near the coal plants to continue living with toxic pollution, ironically to help a state — Virginia — that has fully embraced clean energy. And utility ratepayers in the affected areas will be forced to pay for the plan in the form of higher bills, those critics say.

But PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, says the plan is necessary to maintain grid reliability amid a wave of fossil fuel plant closures in recent years, prompted by the nation’s transition to cleaner power.

Power lines will be built across four states in a $5.2 billion effort that, relying on coal plants that were meant to be shuttered, is designed to keep the electric grid from failing amid spiking energy demands.

Cutting through farms and neighborhoods, the plan converges on Northern Virginia, where a growing data center industry will need enough extra energy to power 6 million homes by 2030.

With not enough of those green energy facilities connected to the grid yet, enough coal and natural gas energy to power 32 million homes is expected to be lost by 2030 at a time when the demand from the growing data center industry, electric vehicles and other new technology is on the rise, PJM says.

“The system is in a major transition right now, and it’s going to continue to evolve,” Ken Seiler, PJM’s senior vice president in charge of planning, said in a December stakeholders’ meeting about the effort to buy time for green energy to catch up. “And we’ll look for opportunities to do everything we can to keep the lights on as it goes through this transition.”

A need for power

Data centers that house thousands of computer servers and the cooling equipment needed for them to runhave been multiplying in Northern Virginia since the late 1990s, spreading from the industry’s historic base in Loudoun County to neighboring Prince William County and, recently, across the Potomac River into Maryland. There are nearly 300 data centers now in Virginia.

With Amazon Web Services pursuing a $35 billion data center expansion in Virginia, rural portions of the state are the industry’s newest target for development.

But data centers also consume massive amounts of energy.

One data center can require 50 times the electricity of a typical office building, according to the U.S.Department of Energy. Multiple-building data center complexes, which have become the norm, require as much as 14 to 20 times that amount.

The demand has strained utility companies, to the point where Dominion Energy in Virginia briefly warned in 2022 that it may not be able to keepup with the pace of the industry’s growth.

The utility — which has since accelerated plans for new power lines and substations to boost its electrical output — predicts that by 2035 the industry in Virginia will require 11,000 megawatts, nearly quadruple what it needed in 2022, or enough to power 8.8 million homes.

Thesmaller Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative recently told PJM that the more than 50 data centers it serves account for 59 percent of its energy demand. It expects to need to serve about 110 more data centers by July 2028.

Meanwhile, the amount of energy available is not growing quickly enough to meet that future demand. Coal plants have scaled down production or shut down altogether as the market transitions to green energy, hastened by laws in Maryland and Virginia mandating net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 and, for several other states in the region, by 2050.

Dominion is developing a 2,600-megawatt wind farm off Virginia Beach — the largest such project in U.S. waters — and the company recently gained state approval to build four solar projects.

But those projects won’t be ready in timeto absorb the projected gap in available energy.Opponents of PJM’s plan say it wouldn’t be necessary if more green energy had been connected to the grid faster, pointing to projects that were caught up in bureaucratic delays for five years or longer before they were connected.

A PJM spokesperson said the organization has recently sped up its approval process and is encouraging utility companies and federal and state officials to better incorporate renewable energy.

About 40,000 megawatts of green energy projects have been cleared for construction but are not being built because of issues related to financing or siting, the PJM spokesperson said.

Once more renewable energy is available, some of the power lines being built to address the energy gap may no longer be needed as the coal plants ultimately shut down, clean energy advocates say — though utility companies contend the extra capacity brought by the lines will always be useful.

“Their planning is just about maintaining the status quo,” Tom Rutigliano, a senior advocate for clean energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said about PJM. “They do nothing proactive about really trying to get a handle on the future and get ready for it.”

‘Holding on tight’ to coal

The smoke from two coal plants near West Virginia’s border with Pennsylvania billows over the city of Morgantown, adding a brownish tint to the air.

The owner of one of the Morgantown-area plants, Longview LLC, recently emerged from bankruptcy. After a restructuring, the facility is fully functioning, utilizing a solar farm to supplement its coal energy output.

The other two plants belong to the Ohio-based FirstEnergy Corp. utility, which had plans to significantly scale down operations there to meet a company goal of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by nearly a third over the next six years.

The FirstEnergy plants are among the state’s worst polluters, said Jim Kotcon, a West Virginia University plant pathology professor who oversees conservation efforts at the Sierra Club’s West Virginia chapter.

The Harrison plant pumped out a combined 12 million tons of coal pollutants like sulfur and nitrous oxides in 2023, more than any other fossil fuel plant in the state, according to Environmental Protection Agency data. The Fort Martin plant, which has been operating since the late 1960s, emitted the state’s highest levels of nitrous oxides in 2023, at 5,240 tons.

After PJM tapped the company to build a 36-mile-long portion of the planned power lines for $392 million, FirstEnergy announced in February that the company is abandoning a 2030 goal to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions because the two plants are crucial to maintaining grid reliability.

The news has sent FirstEnergy’s stock price up by 4 percent, to about $37 a share this week, and was greeted with jubilation by West Virginia’s coal industry.(Hadley Green/The Washington Post)

“We welcome this, without question, because it will increase the life of these plants and hundreds of thousands of mining jobs,” said Chris Hamilton, president of the West Virginia Coal Association. “We’re holding on tight to our coal plants.”

Since 2008, annual coal production in West Virginia has dipped by nearly half, to about 82 million tons, though the industry — which contributes about $5.5 billion to the state’s economy — has rebounded some due to an export market to Europe and Asia, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said his association will lobby hard for FirstEnergy’s portion of the PJM plan to gain state approval. The company said it will submit its application for its power line routes in mid-2025.

PJM asked the plants’ owner, Texas-based Talen Energy Corp., to keep them running through 2028 — with the yet-to-be determined cost of doing so passed on to ratepayers.

That would mean amending a 2018 federal court consent decree, in which Talen agreed to stop burning coal to settle a lawsuit brought by the Sierra Club over Clean Water Act violations. The Sierra Club has rejected PJM’s calls to do so.

“We need a proactive plan that is consistent with the state’s clean energy goals,” said Josh Tulkin, director of the Sierra Club’s Maryland chapter, which has proposed an alternative plan to build a battery storage facility at the Brandon Shores site that would cut the time needed for the plants to operate.

A PJM spokesperson said the organization believes that such a facility wouldn’t provide enough reliable power and is not ruling out seeking a federal emergency order to keep the coal plants running.

With the matter still unresolved, nearby residents say they are anxious to see them closed.

“It’s been really challenging,” said John Garofolo, who lives in the Stoney Beach neighborhood community of townhouses and condominiums, where coal dust drifts into the neighborhood pool when the facilities are running. “We’re concerned about the air we’re breathing here.”

Sounding alarms

Keryn Newman, a Charles Town activist, has been sounding alarms in the small neighborhoods and farm communities along the path of the proposed power lines in West Virginia.

Because FirstEnergy prohibits any structure from interfering with a power line, building a new line along the right of way — which would be expanded to make room for the third line — would mean altering the character of residents’ properties, Newman said.

“It gobbles up space for play equipment for your kid, a pool or a barn,” she said. “And a well or septic system can’t be in the right of way.”

A FirstEnergy spokesperson said the company would compensate property owners for any land needed, with eminent domain proceedings a last resort if those property owners are unwilling to sell.

Pam and Gary Gearhart fought alongside Newman against the defeated 765-kilovolt line, which would have forced them to move a septic system near FirstEnergy’s easement. But when Newman showed up recently to their Harpers Ferry-area neighborhood to discuss the new PJM plan, the couple appeared unwilling to fight again.

Next door, another family had already decided to leave, the couple said, and was in the midst of loading furniture into a truck when Newman showed up.

“They’re just going to keep okaying data centers; there’s money in those things,” Pam Gearhart said about local governments in Virginia benefiting from the tax revenue. “Until they run out of land down there.”

In Loudoun County, where the data center industry’s encroachment into neighborhoods has fostered resentment, community groups are fighting a portion of the PJM plan that would build power lines through the mostly rural communities of western Loudoun.

The lines would damage the views offered by surrounding wineries and farms that contribute to Loudoun’s $4 billion tourism industry, those groups say.

Bill Hatch owns a winery that sits near the path of where PJM suggested one high-voltage line could go, though that route is still under review.

“This is going to be a scar for a long time,” Hatch said.

Reconsidering the benefits

Amid the backlash, local and state officials are reconsidering the data center industry’s benefits.

The Virginia General Assembly has launched a study that, among other things, will look at how the industry’s growth may affect energy resources and utility rates for state residents.

But that study has held up efforts to regulate the industry sooner, frustrating activists.

“We should not be subsidizing this industry for another minute, let alone another year,” Julie Bolthouse, director of land use at the Piedmont Environmental Council, chided a Senate committee that voted in February to table a bill that would force data center companies to pay more for new transmission lines.

Loudoun is moving to restrict where in the county data centers can be built. Up until recently, data centers have been allowed to be built without special approvals wherever office buildings are allowed.

But such action will do little to stem the worries of people like Mary and Richard Gee.

As it is, the two lines near their property produce an electromagnetic field strong enough to charge a garden fence with a light current of electricity, the couple said. When helicopters show up to survey the land for a third line, the family’s dog, Peaches, who is prone to seizures, goes into a barking frenzy.

An artist who focuses on natural landscapes, Mary Gee planned to convert the barn that sits in the shadow of a power line tower to a studio. That now seems unlikely, she said.

Lately, her paintings have reflected her frustration. One picture shows birds with beaks wrapped shut by transmission line. Another has a colorful scene of the rural Charles Town area severed by a smoky black and gray landscape of steel towers and a coal plant.

CORRECTION

A previous version of this article incorrectly reported that Prince William County receives $400 million annually in taxes on the computer equipment inside data centers. It receives $100 million annually. In addition, the article incorrectly stated that two FirstEnergy plants in West Virginia have been equipped with carbon-capturing technology. They do not have such technology in place, The article has been corrected.

[howmanypeopleusevpnintheworld]

does uva vpn run on android phone

🔒🌍✨ Get 3 Months FREE VPN - Secure & Private Internet Access Worldwide! Click Here ✨🌍🔒

does uva vpn run on android phone

UVA VPN compatibility with Android

If you're looking to secure your Android device while browsing the web or accessing sensitive information, using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) like UVA VPN can be a smart choice. UVA VPN is a service provided by the University of Virginia, designed to offer secure access to the university's network resources from off-Grounds locations.

One of the key concerns for Android users is compatibility. Fortunately, UVA VPN is fully compatible with Android devices, ensuring that you can protect your data and maintain privacy while using your smartphone or tablet.

Setting up UVA VPN on your Android device is straightforward. You can download the official UVA Anywhere app from the Google Play Store, which provides easy access to the VPN service. Once installed, simply follow the on-screen instructions to configure the VPN settings.

With UVA VPN enabled on your Android device, you can enjoy several benefits:

Secure Connection: UVA VPN encrypts your internet traffic, preventing unauthorized access to your data and protecting your privacy.

Access to Restricted Resources: By connecting to UVA VPN, you can access restricted resources and services that are only available within the university's network.

Safe Browsing on Public Wi-Fi: When connected to public Wi-Fi networks, such as those in coffee shops or airports, UVA VPN ensures that your online activities remain private and secure.

Protection Against Cyber Threats: UVA VPN helps defend against cyber threats such as hacking, surveillance, and identity theft, providing an added layer of security for your Android device.

Overall, UVA VPN offers seamless compatibility with Android devices, allowing you to enjoy a safer and more secure online experience wherever you go. Whether you're a student, faculty member, or staff at the University of Virginia, using UVA VPN on your Android device ensures that your connection is protected and your data remains confidential.

Android phone VPN setup for UVA

Setting up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) on your Android phone for accessing the University of Virginia's (UVA) network remotely is crucial for maintaining security and accessing restricted resources. Whether you're a student, faculty member, or staff, using a VPN ensures that your data remains encrypted and protected while connecting to UVA's network from outside its premises.

To begin the setup process, you'll first need to download a VPN app from a trusted provider. There are several reputable VPN services available on the Google Play Store, such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or CyberGhost. Once you've chosen a VPN provider, follow these general steps to set up the VPN on your Android device:

Download and install the VPN app from the Google Play Store.

Launch the app and sign in with your account credentials or create a new account if necessary.

Follow the on-screen prompts to configure the VPN settings. You may need to select a server location; for UVA, choose a server located within the United States.

Enable the VPN connection by toggling the switch or button within the app.

You may be prompted to grant permissions for the VPN to establish a secure connection. Follow the prompts to allow the necessary permissions.

Once the VPN connection is established, you should see a key or VPN icon in the status bar indicating that your device is connected securely. You can now access UVA's network resources, including library databases, online courses, and internal websites, as if you were on campus.

Remember to disconnect from the VPN when you're finished using it to conserve battery life and ensure that your device isn't unnecessarily routing all internet traffic through the VPN server. Additionally, always use a secure and trusted VPN service to safeguard your data and privacy effectively.

UVA VPN Android app installation guide

Title: A Comprehensive Guide to Installing the UVA VPN Android App

In today's digital age, securing your online activities is paramount, especially when accessing sensitive information over public networks. The University of Virginia (UVA) offers a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service to ensure the privacy and security of its users' internet connections. Installing the UVA VPN Android app is a straightforward process that provides peace of mind for students, faculty, and staff alike.

Here's a step-by-step guide to help you install the UVA VPN Android app:

Access the Google Play Store: Open the Google Play Store app on your Android device.

Search for UVA VPN: In the search bar, type "UVA VPN" and press enter. The official UVA VPN app should appear in the search results.

Install the App: Tap on the UVA VPN app icon to open its page. Then, click on the "Install" button to begin the installation process.

Open the App: Once the installation is complete, open the UVA VPN app by tapping on its icon from your device's home screen or app drawer.

Log in with your UVA Credentials: Upon opening the app for the first time, you'll be prompted to log in using your UVA computing ID and password.

Accept Permissions: The app may request certain permissions to function properly. Be sure to read and accept these permissions to proceed.

Connect to the VPN: After logging in, you'll be presented with the option to connect to the UVA VPN. Simply tap on the "Connect" button to establish a secure connection.

Enjoy Secure Browsing: Once connected, you can browse the internet securely and access restricted UVA resources from anywhere with an internet connection.

By following these simple steps, you can easily install the UVA VPN Android app and enjoy the benefits of a secure and private online experience. Whether you're studying, conducting research, or simply browsing the web, the UVA VPN app ensures that your data remains protected. Stay safe and connected with the UVA VPN Android app!

Troubleshooting UVA VPN on Android

Troubleshooting UVA VPN on Android

The University of Virginia (UVA) provides a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service to its students, faculty, and staff to ensure secure access to online resources from off-campus locations. However, sometimes users may encounter issues while trying to connect to the UVA VPN on their Android devices. Here are some common troubleshooting steps to resolve such issues:

Check Network Connection: Before attempting to connect to the UVA VPN, ensure that your Android device is connected to the internet, either through Wi-Fi or mobile data. A stable internet connection is essential for establishing a VPN connection.

Verify UVA Credentials: Make sure you are entering the correct UVA computing ID and password. Double-check for any typos or errors in the login credentials. Outdated or incorrect login information can prevent successful VPN authentication.

Update VPN Client: Ensure that you are using the latest version of the UVA VPN client app available on the Google Play Store. Updates often include bug fixes and improvements that can resolve connectivity issues.

Clear App Cache and Data: If the VPN client app is experiencing glitches or crashes, try clearing its cache and data. This action can refresh the app and resolve any temporary issues causing connectivity problems.

Restart Device: Sometimes, a simple device restart can fix minor software glitches that may be affecting the VPN connection. Turn off your Android device, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on before attempting to reconnect to the UVA VPN.

Contact IT Support: If the above steps do not resolve the issue, reach out to the UVA Information Technology (IT) support team for further assistance. They can provide advanced troubleshooting guidance and help resolve any underlying network issues.

By following these troubleshooting steps, users can effectively address connectivity issues and establish a stable VPN connection to access UVA resources securely from their Android devices.

Secure UVA VPN connection on Android

Title: Ensuring Secure UVA VPN Connection on Android Devices

In an era where cybersecurity threats loom large, safeguarding your online activities is paramount, especially when using Android devices. One effective method to enhance your digital privacy and security is by utilizing a Virtual Private Network (VPN). For those affiliated with the University of Virginia (UVA), securing your VPN connection ensures a protected online experience, whether you're browsing the web, accessing sensitive data, or connecting to public Wi-Fi networks.

To establish a secure UVA VPN connection on your Android device, follow these straightforward steps:

Download the UVA Anywhere VPN App: Start by downloading the UVA Anywhere VPN app from the Google Play Store. This official app is specifically designed to provide secure access to UVA resources from anywhere.

Install and Launch the App: Once the app is downloaded, install it on your Android device and launch it to begin the setup process.

Login with UVA Credentials: Upon opening the app, you'll be prompted to log in using your UVA credentials. This ensures that only authorized users can access the VPN.

Connect to UVA VPN Server: After logging in, select the UVA VPN server from the list provided within the app. This establishes a secure connection between your device and the UVA network.

Verify Connection: Once connected, verify that your VPN connection is active by checking the VPN icon in the status bar of your Android device.

Enjoy Secure Browsing: With the VPN connection established, you can now browse the internet, access UVA resources, and communicate online with the assurance of encrypted data transmission and enhanced privacy.

By following these steps, you can ensure a secure UVA VPN connection on your Android device, safeguarding your online activities and sensitive information against potential threats. Remember to keep the UVA Anywhere VPN app updated to benefit from the latest security features and enhancements.

[ivirginus]

How to Find a Company’s Registered Agent

How to Find a Company’s Registered Agent

Tracking down a company’s registered agent may seem difficult, but when a company files for formation with the state, they have to list their registered agent on their paperwork. After their business is formed, their documents become public information. Whether you’re looking for the registered agent of an LLC or a corporation, the process of finding their information is the same. Sometimes a quick Google search can lead you to the company’s registered agent’s information. But sometimes, registered agent information is a little harder to find. Luckily, a little digging can get you what you need.

Why would I need to find a company’s registered agent?

Process servers are generally the ones who will be looking for a company’s registered agent. A process server is someone whose job is to serve legal documents to someone involved in a court case.They’re tasked with delivering what’s known as “service of process.” Service of process is notice of legal action, such as a legal complaint, summons, or subpoena. In order to serve a company, a process server will need to deliver service of process to the company’s registered agent, who serves as a company’s point of contact. However, contacting a company’s registered agent isn’t just limited to service processors. Individuals or businesses who are struggling to get in contact with a business might seek out its registered agent too.

How to find the registered agent of a company

Whether the business is domestic, with one location, or foreign with their headquarters in another state, they are required to have a registered agent in the state where they are operating, i.e. the state where you are serving papers if you’re a process server. This is the registered agent you’ll typically want to contact. Find the state agency for business filings In the state of operation, you’ll need to contact the state office where the company originally filed their formation documents. For most states, businesses are registered with a division of the Secretary of State or the Department of State. In a handful of states, however, business registrations are done via different state commissions or departments: - Alaska: Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development - Arizona: Arizona Corporation Commission - Hawaii: Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs - Maryland: Department of Assessments & Taxation - Massachusetts: Secretary of the Commonwealth - Michigan: Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs - New Jersey: Department of the Treasury - Utah: Department of Commerce - Virginia: State Corporation Commission - Wisconsin: Department of Financial Institutions Most filing offices give access to business registration information on their website. Conduct a business entity search A business name search or business entity search will often get you the information you need. If the state you’re looking into has an online business search, you’ll usually be able to find a company’s registered agent by doing the following: - Go to the Secretary of State’s (or other state agency’s) website. Look for a tab or link labeled something like “Businesses,” “Business Entity,” or “Corporations.” Sometimes the tab will read “Search Businesses” or “Business Search.” >> Checkout our complete list of Secretary of State Name Searches - - Read the full article

[govindhtech]

Boost Your Large In-Memory Databases & Business Workloads

In-memory databases help energy, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, telecom, media, entertainment, gaming, government, and public sector enterprises. They also support business-critical operations for these companies.

Performance is crucial because they require real-time or nearly real-time transaction and analytics processing for a wide range of use cases. However, cost effectiveness is equally crucial in the modern world of accomplishing more with less.

AWS in memory database

For high-memory applications, Amazon EC2 U7i custom virtual instances (8-socket) provide the scalability, high performance, and cost-effectiveness that enterprises want. They also support in-memory databases like SAP HANA, Oracle, and SQL Server.

With 896 vCPUs and up to 32 TiB of DDR5 memory, these 4th Gen Intel Xeon processor and Intel Advanced Matrix Extensions (Intel AMX)-powered 8-socket U7i instances provide the compute and memory density required to extend transaction processing throughput in rapidly expanding data environments.

U7i instances are a great option for the present and the future since the demand for high-memory cloud solutions, including  AI models, will only increase as large-scale data models whether developed by internal organizations or external vendors become more prevalent.

Intel AMX, an  AI engine built into Intel Xeon Scalable processors, reduces the requirement for specialized hardware while speeding up inferencing and training. This results in exceptional cost savings. These integrated accelerators are located close to system memory in each CPU core. A faster time to value is made possible by the fact that Intel AMX is frequently easier to deploy than discrete accelerators.

Benefits for Businesses

U7i instances give enterprises a quick, easy, and adaptable approach to manage their mission-critical, large-scale workloads. Additional benefits include of:

Extremely Flexible: In data environments that are expanding quickly, organizations can readily scale throughput.

Superb Work: Compared to current U-1 instances, U7i instances have up to 135% greater compute performance and up to 45% better price performance.

Decreased Indirect Costs: With U7i instances, you can operate both business apps that rely on large in-memory databases and databases themselves in the same shared Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), which guarantees predictable performance while lowering the management burden associated with sophisticated networking.

Worldwide Accessibility: U7i instances come with operating system support for Ubuntu, Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and Amazon Linux. They are accessible in the US East (North Virginia), US West (Oregon), and Asia Pacific (Seoul, Sydney) AWS Regions. Regularly, new regions are added.

Quick and Simple to Start: Buying U7i instances is simple, allowing you to start using them right away. In addition to shared dedicated instance and dedicated host tenancy, purchase choices include On-Demand, Savings Plan, and Reserved Instance form.

What is in memory database?

In contrast to conventional databases, which store data on disc, in-memory databases store data mostly in main memory (RAM). Because accessing data in RAM is far faster than accessing data on a disc, this makes in-memory databases substantially faster for data retrieval and modification.

The following are some salient features of in-memory databases:

Benefits of in memory database

Speed: In-memory databases’ main benefit is their speed. Read and write operations are substantially faster when data is stored in RAM as opposed to disk-based storage.

Volatility: Data is lost in the event of a system crash or power outage because RAM is volatile memory. Many in-memory databases offer data permanence features, including transaction logs and recurring disc snapshots, to help reduce this.

Use Cases: Applications that need to handle data quickly, such real-time analytics, caching, and session management, are best suited for in-memory databases.

Example of in memory database

Redis: Popular in-memory data structure storage for real-time analytics, message brokers, and caches.

Memcached: A fast distributed memory object caching solution that minimizes database demand to speed up dynamic web apps.

H2: A memory-efficient, lightweight Java SQL database for development, testing, and small apps.

The cutting-edge relational database management system SAP HANA is for analytics and real-time applications.

Performance: Because RAM is used, data access and processing are incredibly quick.

Scalability: Frequently made to expand horizontally, this feature enables load balancing and distributed computing.

Decreased delay: Perfect for applications that need data access with minimal delay.

Disadvantages of in memory database

Cost: Large-scale in-memory databases are expensive since RAM is more expensive than disc storage.

Data Persistence: Adding more methods and potential complexity is necessary to ensure that data is not lost in the event of a power outage.

Limited Capacity: The RAM that is available determines how much data can be kept.

Persistence Mechanisms

In-memory databases frequently employ a number of strategies to deal with the volatility issue:

Snapshots: Writing the complete database to disc on a regular basis.

Append-Only Files, or AOFs, record each modification performed to the database so that the information can be replayed and restored.

Hybrid storage refers to the combining of disk-based and in-memory storage to provide greater storage capacity and data longevity.

Utilization Examples

Real-time analytics: Quick data processing and analysis, crucial for e-commerce, telecom, and financial services.

Caching: Keeping frequently requested data in memory to lighten the burden on conventional databases.

Session management is the process of storing user session information for online apps so that the user experience is uninterrupted.

Gaming: Keeping up with the rapid updates and data changes that occur in online gaming environments.

In summary

Applications that demand real-time data access and processing can benefit greatly from the unmatched speed and performance that in-memory databases provide. They do, however, have limitations with regard to cost, capacity, and data persistence. These difficulties can be overcome by utilizing suitable persistence methods and hybrid storage options, which makes in-memory databases an effective tool for a range of high-performance applications.

Read more on govindhteh.com

[pcrxbiz]

How Business Phone Systems Can Help Your Business Grow?

Irrespective of its size, a firm must never stop talking to its customers, vendors, and employees. Today's firms need constant, off-site access to internal computer networks to remain competitive. Also, they need advanced telecommunications capabilities that allow them to field a high volume of calls and seamlessly route internal messages. Companies now strive to give employees and customers more than just business phone systems but multimedia channels for cooperation.

Do you recognize this description of your company? If that's the case, it sounds like business is booming! To top it all off, you want a simple solution that can meet the varied needs of modern business communication. What you need is a cutting-edge business telephone system.

Condense your time and money.

Cloud-based phone systems have revolutionized business telecommunications. With their help, even mid-sized businesses may inexpensively have access to the same high-quality enterprise telecom services as their larger counterparts. There is no need for on-premises wiring or cabling with a VoIP phone system. All your communications are archived on the provider companies' commercial servers (unless you choose to use them for it). This is a smart financial and time-saving decision for your company. There is no need to invest in costly hardware to do routine maintenance on your virtual PBX; you can do it remotely.

Your supplier also ensures that your staff is regularly trained and regularly updated with the latest technology. As a result, for a predetermined fee each month, you may save effort and reallocate funds that might be better used towards growing your business.

A corporate phone system may help you simplify your company's communication processes. Instead of using several apps for calling and collaborating, you can manage everything from one central hub. The cloud phone system is the central hub that streamlines your operations with its many useful features. Depending on your business needs, you may tailor your call management setup with features like dynamic call routing, queues, call logs, and IVR menus. Audio and video conferencing are tools that help teams work together more effectively. Thanks to Data Recovery Richmond, Virginia, you have centralized access to and management of all of your business's conversations.

[fionaxsharpe]

Fiona listened while Alex spoke, nodding along as she processed what he was saying. It was obvious he was sharing something with her that wasn't entirely enjoyable for him, and that was a fact she appreciated. Outside of her family and her pack, there were few people she had connections with despite how social of a nature she had. "It won't ever stop surprising me, I don't think; the fact that people have such a tendency to expect things from others they can't expect of themselves." She let the thought hang between them for a moment. "I can understand that too." Fiona admitted, her tone heavy. "All of it. It's...It can get to be a lot. And no matter how much you were able to ignore it n the past, once you really notice it...It's like you can't stop." Within her own mind, she wasn't certain she was making much sense. Really, she just found it beneficial to get a bit of her emotion out. "I...." As the pair took their seats in one of the bar's outlying booths, Fiona slipped the jacket from her arms to make herself more comfortable. Studying the table they'd been placed at, she took in a deep breath, unable to meet Alex's eyes. "I...Lost someone." While she felt as though she should say more, more simply didn't come in the moment. Virginia's accident had happened just outside of town, and had made the news headlines for weeks after. Fiona wasn't certain if Alex was aware of the connection, though knowing Holloway and the speed at which gossip traveled around town, she wouldn't have been surprised if he did. Just as she collected herself to say more their server arrived. Immediately, Fiona ordered two shots of tequila and a beer. Between the conversation up to this point and what she'd just heard Alex say, she found herself preparing for a long night. "What now?" Fiona asked, hoping the surprise in her voice sounded authentic. "Macabre interests aside, what prompted that theory?"

Alex was glad when he moved to Holloway. It was a new start for him and he enjoyed being in the town that his grandmother had loved so much. He had friends and people who knew him as Alex. His friends were important to him and he cared about the girl. He hoped she knew that. "I really do think people think that. I'm this easy going guy and nothing gets me down," he laughed at himself. "I try my best to be a good person. I like to help people. I don't like to let anyone down," he struggled. "I just... yeah. I spent so long pretending. For me personally... I think it got harder," he said simply, he didn't need to get into his past and he didn't want to. "Sometimes, that is okay. You just... even ramble it all out. It's okay not to always know everything," he offered with a smile. "My theories. Well, I am the guy who has played a lot of video games, read a lot of comics and plays DnD... I have so many ideas in my head. I'm just for the first time wondering... if magical and supernatural beings could be real."

[processserverculpeperva]

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