*disclaimer - I am a musician and a composer, and I am not making the argument that "robots" or anything else can ever replace live musicians

With that said:

You would be surprised at how well some of the sampled, Virtual Instruments have progressed.

East West Quantum Leap Pianos

Native Instruments Piano Collection

8dio 1928 Steinway

Now again, so be clear, I'm not supporting the position that computers will ever replace musicians or actual, real instruments, mind you. I just wanted to point out that VST's have really come a long way, particularly in the last 10 years or so. No more are you stuck with Garritan Pocket Orchestra, and sad, tinny reproductions of instruments based on the PC wavetables. If you've got the money to spend, you can get some amazing sounds, with a stunning amount of dynamics and articulations availble.

Crap, wasn't logged in.


I'd argue most of those malls ALREADY have many of those things.

With respect, you're flat out incorrect in some cases, and misguided in others.

As you can see here , the electrical consumption of your average mall runs around 9 Watts/sq ft. Even a moderate Data Center load is going to be around 75 Watts/sq ft just in terms of IT load. Once you factor in Mechanical Cooling, it's just going to go up from there. Furthermore, even if a mall had say a 10 MW electrical feed, you're obviously going to want 2 or more separate, dedicated feeds for your Data Center. You don't want to share that feed with the mall. Any disturbance on that mall's feed could impact your own. So when the maintenance guys at the mall screw up and accidentally single phase a compressor on their chiller, you don't want to have the fault on your line. Thus, any way you slice it, you're putting in your own feed(s). Figure in also, you have to think whether the local electrical utility planned for an additional several Megawatts of power in this particular section of their grid. Perhaps they had planned for maybe a 10-15% growth in the mall's load, but not quite for a sudden 5-10 MW being dropped on the circuit(s).

Again, you're missing the point. In some cases, yes, lots of fiber trunks are laid where the freeways and highways are. This isn't always the case, but I'll go with it. You still have to get comm into your facility, and I'm continuing to say that this is going to be a little more of a hassle if you're adjacent to a busy, functioning mall.

Irrelevant. Yes, some malls have cute, little natural gas generators to run their Fire/Life Safety Systems (elevators, emergency lighting, security system, etc) as required by code but a) this is not even slightly close to what you'll need to run a Data Center and b) even if it were, you'll want your own dedicated generators for your Data Center. Do you really want to run the risk of not being able to power your Data Center during a utility outage because the elevator to the Cinnabon needs to run?

I don't think you are getting my point. This isn't about the physical space in the building, it's about all the other things. To your point, the Blades and SAN configuration does indeed take up a smaller footprint than some of the older hardware, but it is DRAMATICALLY more energy intensive (thus my reasons for harping on things like electrical utility, generators, and cooling). A moderate Data Center with around 75,000 square feet of raised floor is probably going to draw somewhere between 5 and 10 Megawatts. I'd say that's probably very close (if not beyond) many industrial applications.

Please tell me that you're not being serious here. If you think that lighting and being in a conspicuous area are adequate in terms of security, then it is clear that you have not ever been inside a Data Center. You specifically do NOT want your place located in an easy to find/access place. You want a dedicated physical Security team guarding your site 24/7/365, not depend on the mall cops. You're also comparing the negative elements of guys who are trying to steal DVD players and TVs from the mall's best buy with the guys that want to get in to Data Centers and steal millions of dollars of information. VERY different things.


Look, I'm not saying that these places CANNOT be made in to Data Centers, I'm just saying that it doesn't make sense considering the thousands of other, much more appropriate site choices for Data Centers. Large, empty buildings with a lot of electrical infrastructure already exist, and make much better (and less expensive) choices for putting a Data Center in. I'm basically saying that I think this whole idea is a pipe dream by the Sears people, and I don't see why anyone would choose to upfit one of their old sites versus the many, many more suitable choices that will probably cost them a lot less.

I don't see what's so difficult about running power and telecom to an EMPTY building. Dig up the empty parking lot. I assume they aren't going to do this with properties that are directly adjacent to an existing mall... or perhaps, they are going to remodel to recover space.

From TFA:

While some auto centers are attached to mall-based retail stores, more than 50 are stand-alone facilities, located on the perimeter of shopping malls

If you have an abandoned Auto Center, but it's adjacent to a large, functioning mall, it's going to be a logistical challenge to get the power lines and comm lines installed with minimal impact to the businesses adjacent to the area. Also, it could potentially be a challenge even finding enough capacity of either in that particular area. Retail areas of municipalities usually are not on a "priority one" section of the electrical grid whereas Hospitals and certain Industrial Areas tend to be. If you're planning a Data Center, you want to be on a "priority one" grid to be sure you get the first attention in the event of an extended outage.

??? Not sure where you got that idea. However, it is industry best practice to run your generators regularly. I recommend weekly no-load tests, and at least quarterly load tests. I'm suggesting that a big shopping mall is likely to complain when you're belching black diesel smoke weekly when you spin your gens up for a few minutes.

Indeed, my point wasn't that the Data Centers in large cities are a security problem. I was pointing out that if you put one in the middle of a parking lot, adjacent to a large retail establishment, with multiple driveways, adjacent (busy) city streets, lots of pedestrian traffic, and the other things that come with a shopping district, THOSE THINGS are going to create security challenges.


I don't think you're following me.

Disclaimer: I work managing Data Centers.

There is no way this will ever get off the ground, and is just a ridiculous idea for so many reasons, I can barely count. This is clearly some "genius" idea from some marketing person attached to the Corporate Real Estate group within Sears trying to drum up excitement to help them liquidate their properties.

There is plenty of "big empty box" real estate all over the country that's vacant. There's nothing special about these auto centers, including the 16 foot ceilings or whatever they're touting as significant. It takes much more than a big empty building to create a well designed Data Center. Here are a few items I think would be worth noting:

1) Insufficient Electrical Utility Feeds - no way these Auto Centers have 5 or 10 MW of Utility coming to them. Plus, if they're in the parking lots of shopping malls, I don't see how you could install that type of Utility in a cost effective way.
2. Insufficient Communications Infrastructure - similar to the Utility, there's no way there are OC-48's or multiple T1's coming into these sites, and the cost of putting them in through an existing parking lot is going to be miserable
3. Generators - Getting permits and permission from adjacent business owners to put in multiple Generators on the site is going to be challenging at best. Good luck getting the Mall Owner to allow you to stack your place with loud, smoke producing Generators and run them whenever you want.
4. Security - do I even need to say it? Can you imagine having to try to keep your place secure when it's regularly overwhelmed by Christmas shoppers parking next to your building, or the local skate kids practicing tricks on your curb after getting tossed from the shopping mall next door?
5. Diesel storage - no way you're getting permission to put in a UST, and the risk of having an AST that's so accessible to vandals or thieves is going to be tricky. Ditto for trying to get tanker trucks to come in an fill your tanks easily.
6. Chillers or Condensers - Either way, you need a lot of room to put your cooling infrastructure....more than is likely going to fit on the roof. That old parking lot around the Auto Center is going to get swallowed up quickly with gear.


and on and on and on...

This. Exactly this.

I know it's popular for everyone to go on and on about how all CEOs are morons, and how if they'd just listen to us geeks more often, the wheels of commerce would turn so much easier, but this type of thing (for better or for worse) happens ALL THE TIME in corporate America. In my opinion, Blackberry should not have tried to expand their market to compete with other smartphones at all. They should have recognized their dominance in corporate deployments and done everything they could to cater to those customers. Sure, it's an "eggs in one basket" strategy, but you're dealing with huge, Fortune 500 companies who do not make company-wide hardware decisions lightly, and usually cringe at the idea of having to do massive deployments of completely new equipment.

How many of us have seen older, un-sexy pieces of gear get perpetually propped up by companies just because they've got way too much money/time invested in the present solution than they could justify scrapping it all? Heck, even if it's a bit predatory, RIM would have been smart to realize this edge, and if they had to build in a couple of proprietary hooks that they could have convinced a few CEO's that they "can't live without" they'd have had a client base for life.

Obligatory Stephen Wright:

Agreed. I bet you that sooner or later they'll come out with the option to pay some fee to be able to see who's been searching/looking at your profile. I know it's been claimed that there's no way to do this, but I'm having trouble believing that, and I'd be willing to bet that a lot of people would indeed pay for this.

I think that's stretching things a bit.

I feel that should read "...it does have immense value sometimes." I respect that your experience is such that going back to school is a fruitful endeavor for you, and I genuinely wish you luck and prosperity in your pursuits. But, I think the important thing to keep in mind is that experience trumps education any day of the week. So, if you're a person with a clear idea of what he wants to do for a living and is able to find and afford a degree program in that field, then I can see that college might be a benefit. Just keep in mind that someone who lacks a degree, but has more experience in actually doing the type of work called for is probably going to beat you out if you guys go head-to-head in interviews.

And before anyone pops off about the usual "well you have to have a degree or HR won't even look at your resume", I assure you that has not been my experience. In fact the last 3 jobs I've held have all "required" at least a Bachelor's Degree, and I don't even have an Associates. What I do have is focus, drive, ambition, dedication, excellent communication skills, intuition, organizational skills, and initiative. As someone who suffered for years under the heavy shroud of guilt for not having completed either of my 2 attempts at a college degree, I can now say that I am genuinely glad that I did not complete my degree(s) because I feel that my hands on experience has proven far more valuable both to my employers and to myself.

Are there going to be challenges to getting a job without a degree, sure there are. You'll have to work to separate yourself from the crowd (just like a degreed candidate would have to). You'll also benefit from networking and keeping in touch with folks in the industry you want to work in, because they're the best source for leads on new jobs (just as they are for a degreed candidate). You can't afford to turn down a job that you feel you are above, everyone has to start somewhere, and it's often a more menial job done exceptionally well that results in an employee getting noticed as a Rising Star (and yes, this too is true for degreed applicants as well). In my opinion, there's nothing better or worse about choosing to go to college and get a degree than choosing to enter the career world in other ways, rather they're just different approaches and both are valid.

A very good list. These will be a little more related to the Facilities side of the house but I'd add:

Infrared Thermometer
Either a sling psychrometer (cheaper) or a digital hygrometer/psychrometer to measure humidity
Flashlight(s)
Floor tile puller (if you are on a raised floor)
Ladder
Extension Cord(s)

Reminds me of a joke one of my better past bosses used to tell:

A manager is going over some loose ends with his replacement as he is gathering his remaining belongings from his office. As he leaves, he hands the new manager 3 envelopes and says "Only use these when absolutely necessary. Use them wisely in times of crisis.". And with that, the former manager leaves the premises.

Several months go by, and eventually there is an issue. A long term project was several weeks overdue and the customers are livid. Senior management was demanding answers and the new manager was panicked. In desperation, he hurries back to his office, closes the door, and opens one of the envelopes. It contains a note that says "Say that you haven't been with the team long enough to have your arms fully wrapped around all the details". So, the manager reports to the next meeting of the Department Heads, and proceeds to tell everyone just that. He assures them that he'll continue to do his best to figure out what's going on and get everything back on track. This pleases the senior managers, and the crisis passes.

About 6 months later, it becomes clear that the company is badly over budget for the year and at the current financial state, would be forced to begin layoffs before the end of the year. Again, the manager finds himself overwhelmed and has no idea how to fix things. Again, he closes himself off in his office, and opens the second envelope. It contains a note that says, "Blame the guy before you.". With renewed confidence, the manager calls a company meeting and proceeds to throw his predecessor under the bus for the current financial crisis. Assuring everyone that he will look at all possible cost containment measures and resolve the problems, he lives to see another day.

Just over a year since this manager has been with the company, things are at the breaking point. Employees have unionized and have threatened a strike in response to being overworked and having their benefit packages raided. The manager feels completely cornered and has no foreseeable way out of his predicament. Wracked with anxiety, the manager again retreats to his office, and opens the third envelope. Inside it is a note that says:

"Make three envelopes."

10001110101

Well, I looked for your Polk Pickup Truck Usage Study (whatever that is) and couldn't find it. And as for your 27% and 78% assertions, I believe this fortune cookie might shed a little light.

Man, that's bad. Bad. Really, really bad.

Admit it, you just want to be able to say "Tea, Earl Grey Tea, hot!" and have your kettle start warming, don't you?