
Power outage at CES - iamhamm
https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/10/the-day-the-lights-went-out-at-ces/
======
cs702
So much brainpower and investment in the US is being devoted to building great
software. Meanwhile, US infrastructure, which was the envy of the world 50
years ago, is now crumbling everywhere: roads, bridges, tunnels, trains, train
stations, airports, etc. Power grids too.

~~~
psychometry
The problem is not lack of brainpower, but rather lack of political will.
Specifically, the fact that one of the major parties has no interest in
governing and that the pitiful state of compulsory education has created a
populace too stupid to stop voting for them.

~~~
whatshisface
I'd love to live in a world where all political problems were concentrated in
a single party that enjoyed no support from smart people. I don't think that's
our world, though.

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
The filter is only for critical thinking skills. This is how brain surgeons
end up believing crazy shit about the pyramids.

------
wanderingjew
The demonstrations of Internet-connected smart home lighting solutions went
exactly as expected.

~~~
heartbreak
All of my dumb lights work properly when the power is out. I can't believe
smart lighting doesn't work the same.

~~~
dguaraglia
Never had a dumb lightbulb fail to reboot safely after a black out.

~~~
tekromancr
All my smart lightbulbs revert to lightbulbs in a black out. Even without
network access, they still work like dumbulbs.

~~~
dguaraglia
I know. My comment was clearly tongue in cheek. As someone who worked in a
company that makes Smart Home devices (Nest) I'm pretty aware that most
devices have "safe" modes when they are not fully functional.

That said... I still find smart lightbulbs kind of overkill.

------
bigiain
Props to Brian/Techcrunch for the shout out to my favourite Everything But The
Girl song!

> (2:13PM PT) According to the CTA, the culprit was, in fact, the rain. Here’s
> a link to a relevant Everything But the Girl video and here’s the official
> statement on the matter.

( that link is to
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4sPkS8b62Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4sPkS8b62Q)
)

------
thrillgore
2018 is totally crushing it for my sense of crippling dread and ironic humor.

~~~
iamhamm
oh so true. On Jan. 2, tried to start the year positive, but my train was held
for 30 minutes because the tracks were on fire... that basically seems to be a
good theme!

------
jwilk
CES = Consumer Electronics Show

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Electronics_Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Electronics_Show)

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cryptoz
Is there any word on the cause? Did exhibitions simply use too much power? Is
it residual damage from the heavy rain?

~~~
ohjeez
I saw a link (sorry didn't keep it) saying it's being blamed on a transformer
malfunction.

(Which makes me think all sorts of things about movies, but we won't go
there.)

~~~
irrational
Heh. This is what I always think when I hear about things like a house blowing
up because of a gas leak. "Well, looks like we now know where the ex-CIA
assassin lived."

------
scottdevries
Power is back on now in the central hall.

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lostmsu
Too many crypto miners?

~~~
gruez
because the best place to mine is not somewhere with cheap rent and
electricity like china, but in the building where CES is held.

~~~
jameskegel
Are you saying that exhibitors are having to pay their own power Cost?

~~~
craftyguy
Exhibitors have to pay for their own power.

~~~
pitaa
While sort of true, I've never seen any sort of tradeshow where the power is
metered. Typically you just pay a flat rate for the number/size of hookups you
need.

~~~
craftyguy
Right, but show organizers are not running a sinking ship. It's like health
insurance, most will not use enough power to equal the amount they paid per
hookup, and are subsidizing those that underpaid.

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CameronBanga
Is this really news worthy of a top spot on Hacker News?

~~~
whateveracct
Popular Tech Thing Failing is a very popular class of Front Page HN Article.
Other popular classes include..

* Version XXX of Popular Software Released

* Provocative Study/Article about Male Genitals (Circumcision articles fall under this)

~~~
Zigurd
I checked. Circumcision is a not so rare topic.

