re: Fix the Grid____Ouch! Our April feature on upgrading the nation's electricity grid polarized readers, who either applauded our solution or zapped us with cranky comebacks. One letter writer worried—justifiably—that a networked grid might invite terrorist attacks. Another claimed less convincingly that the current system "actually works pretty well." Um, right. That's why we've stocked up on votive candles, manual typewriters, and X-Acto knives just in time for brownout season.
Feedback
The April stories that elicited the most reader response. The Power Struggle
Can the grid be better? Absolutely. But the electrical system will not emulate the Web until we have a revolution in wires. The kind of national grid you envision in "Power to the People" (issue 17.04) will only result from breakthroughs in room-temperature superconductors that today are just being conceptualized. When the technology comes, it'll change transformers, motors, and batteries in ways we haven't even imagined.
George Daszkowski
Mississauga, Ontario
We have the solution to energy self-sufficiency here in the US: Nuclear power already provides the Northeast with 30 percent of its electricity. It's foolish to think we can create some magic Internet-like grid that delivers power like email. Electricity is more like water, which flows where gravity and pressure take it. If you fight a force of nature, you will lose.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by PAT
"Empowering consumers"? This requires that consumers be allowed to consume as much as they want—or not. They already have an incentive and means to "cut consumption when the need arises"; it's called cost reduction. As costs rise, consumers will find ways to use less power and/or find alternatives. There is no need to "pay big users" or for government to create permanent agencies to issue cute stickers, or worse. Let the markets work.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by TECHGM
Improved remote monitoring of the grid's aggregate demand might benefit management and control, but you're deluded if you believe the smart grid is anything more than a clever way to charge consumers more for electricity. Recognize it for what it is: a marketing strategy by General Electric and others to sell millions of power meters. How is that "smart" for me?
Otto Geiseman
Canton, Michigan
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Latte Foam for Less
Our "$879 Home Office" story (Test, 17.04) steamed budget-conscious readers, who said we should have ditched the $20 Aerolatte milk foamer for the nearly identical $2 Ikea Produkt. Time for a froth-off! We expected the hefty Aerolatte to whip the Produkt and its smaller whisk. Not so: Wired chef Philip Ferrato decreed that the Produkt delivered smoother whole-milk foam with better mouthfeel. Sorry, Aerolatte.
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"The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist" Cubic Zirconia?
Who, exactly, is supposed to be fooled by this silly tale ("The Untold Story of the World's Biggest Diamond Heist," issue 17.04)? You expect us to believe that thieves with the brains and dexterity to rewire hidden alarm circuits in complete darkness would spill stolen diamonds onto a carpet and be unable to pick them out in full daylight? And that these same guys wouldn't realize that leather pouches supposedly full of diamonds are actually empty? It sounds like Notarbartolo used his time in jail to dream up the script for an Ocean's Eleven prequel. He must be hoping that George Clooney will play him.
Dave Millman
San Jose, California
Wired doesn't make this stuff up; we even employ a sizable crew of researchers to keep things truthy. Still, some of you found Joshua Davis' article hard to believe. Trust us: Leonardo Notarbartolo really does exist. Davis met with him several times in the Belgian prison where he served his sentence. And the thieves really did toss their diamond-laden trash onto the property of a guy who makes a pastime of reporting litterbugs. As Mark Twain wrote, "Truth is stranger than fiction ... because fiction is obliged to stick with possibilities; truth isn't."
The Diamond Center's security setup was horrible. Turning the lights off at night? Putting the magnetic sensor on the outside of the door? Epic failures. An unhooded combo lock? Lines of sight should be blocked when entering the combo—that's security 101. Insecure cabling? Zero time to defeat. Keeping the master key in a storage closet? WTF! The motion sensor gets degraded with hair spray, and you don't notice? It's hard to believe all of this is real. These are errors a high school student would make, not a security system designer.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by GOROBEI
Man, whatever you guys are paying Josh Davis, double it. His stories are consistently just flat-out fascinating and fantastic, this one included.
Excerpted from a comment posted on Wired.com by BHANCE
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Rethink Your Data
In "The Brain, Revealed" (issue 17.04), I was surprised to see a comparison between the data generated per day by the Human Genome Project (3 gigabytes) and the Allen Institute (more than 1 terabyte). The data types are completely different, and more than a decade separates these projects. You are comparing apples to oranges—or rather locational expression profiles to bases. If you want to measure the industrialization/roboticization of scientific work, perhaps you should look at current genome sequencing projects, which can generate as much as 6 terabytes of compressed data per day.
Andrew Hollinger
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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"Monopoly Killer" A Killer Game
Many of you were thrilled to discover our new favorite board game, The Settlers of Catan ("Monopoly Killer," issue 17.04). Among the converts: Wired editor in chief Chris Anderson, who bought the game after reading the article. His review on Twitter (@chr1sa): "Wow. Everyone's right: Settlers of Catan is the best game we've ever played. Perfect for all ages, 7 and up. No more Monopoly!" That's one way to know the boss approves.
My wife and I enjoy The Settlers of Catan so much that we built a special game board for it (which someone else also got the idea for and patented, damn it). I'm glad that the game is getting the exposure it deserves.
James B. Tayrien
Fort Lewis, Washington
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He'll Be Back
The popularity of the Terminator franchise ("No Pity. No Fear. No End," issue 17.04) reveals our fascination with the Third Reich. Look at the Terminator, a ruthless and efficient machine programmed to kill millions of people. Oh yeah, he's got an Austrian accent, too. Sound familiar? He's the ultimate enemy of humanity, and we can't get enough of him. In fact, we like him so much, we make him the hero in the sequel. I'm not saying that Terminator fans are closet Nazis, only that the character taps right into the human attraction to evil.
Fred Stesney
Brooklyn, New York
"No Pity, No Fear, Noe End" Regarding your disparaging comments on Shawn Ryan's involvement in the Terminator Salvation script: While Nash Bridges and My Two Dads may not have been legendary television (and let's not even mention The Unit), Ryan did create The Shield, a little FX show you may have heard of.
Casey Scott
Miami, Florida
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Dusting Off Memories
David Maisel's photo from Library of Dust (Playlist, issue 17.04) was stunning. I worked as a security guard at a funeral home mortuary, and while rummaging around one night I found just such a room in an attic: shelves of nondescript, square metal urns, all neatly labeled and numbered. Most disturbing were urns with labels like leg, foot, and torso, or 2 arms. It was a potter's field of the cremated. Maisel's picture brought memories of my own creepy find flooding back. Thanks.
George Bluvas
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Tack Så Mycket!
Just picked up the March edition of Wired, and frankly, it really sucks. It sucks that I'm already 26 years old and haven't discovered you until now. The "Design Under Constraint" piece nicely summarizes my own views on industrial design, and your story on the Gaussian copula function scared me shitless. Your future subscriber,
Björn Fahleson
Stockholm, Sweden
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Good point! Here's a more illuminating take on the data. States of Confusion
I'm a bit of a data geek, so I was excited to see a map in the Rants section (issue 17.04). But the information is presented in such a way as to make it meaningless. The chart's subtitle could be changed from "Wired Subscribers by State" to "US Population by State" without altering the picture a bit. (I should add that, out of all the issues of Wired I've read, this is the first time I've been less than 100 percent satisfied.)
Matthew S. Slafka
Kent, Washington
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Rants Letters should include the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number and be sent to rants@wired.com. Submissions may be edited and may be published or used in any medium. They become the property of Wired and will not be returned.
