Origins
In May of 2008, Saddle Creek Logistics Services was performing it's Spring cleaning and sending old computers and other equipment to a recycler. This equipment had either gone far past it's service life and was deemed unfit for service or was not repairable. Remembering a Scientific American article he had read about The Stone SouperComputer built from spare PCs at Oak Ridge National Labs in the late 90's, Mr. Shook thought it might be possible to achieve something similar using modern Grid Computing techniques. All the basic parts necessary to build a pool of computers that could be setup to work on public scientific research were available. Saddle Creek Logistics Services has agreed to supply this endeavor with internet access, dedicated UPS's for clean power and a place to put it all. An old server closet and an unused server rack have been brought back online to support Refuse For Research.
About Mike Shook
Mike Shook is a systems and integration professional with extensive experience working in warehousing and logistics environments, where technical systems directly support physical operations. His work has included data integration, infrastructure and platform support, and hands-on cybersecurity operations, with an emphasis on reliability, observability, and operational continuity. In addition to his professional role, he maintains long-running independent projects focused on data formats, tooling, and durable systems design.
He has had the opportunity to witness first hand how businesses replace products not just when broken but also when an improved product becomes available or they become too expensive to maintain. While these machines are usually sent to recyler, there isn't a huge market for used servers. Even the PC's that are refurbished often are difficult to place. Refuse For Research allows him to put these machines back to work.
For his current profile, please go to: http://mike.omegatower.com.
About World Community Grid
"World Community Grid's mission is to create the largest public computing grid benefiting humanity. Our work is built on the belief that technological innovation combined with visionary scientific research and large-scale volunteerism can change our world for the better. Our success depends on individuals - like you - collectively contributing their unused computer time to this not-for-profit endeavor." - from World Community Grid's website.
About Our Sponsor
Saddle Creek Logistics Services is a third-party logistics company. We leverage our broad array of capabilities — including warehousing, transportation, packaging and fulfillment — to provide integrated solutions that support our customers' business objectives. For more information, visit sclogistics.com.
Questions or Comments?
To contact me directly please email me at Mike@OmegaTower.com