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Want Your Own Bunker Like WikiLeaks Or Pirate Bay?
talljamesnixon writes "Fancy starting up your own secure ISP? A bomb-proof Cold War nuclear bunker like the ones that hosted The Pirate Bay and WikiLeaks has come on the market for just £400,000 ($635,000). Situated several metres under the rolling hills of Scotland, the Cultybraggan bunker cost £30 million to build, has space for 150 staff and includes its own BBC studio, canteen, telephone exchange and dormitories."
working in such a pirate outfit, in a nuclear bunker, with a lot of geeks, and living in dormitories !!!!
OH BOY !!!
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ISP? Hell, I want to live there! Just think of the parties you could throw.
one basement looks just like any other!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I live In Australia and that price tag is cheaper than the local housing, and no, I am not in Sydney or Melbourne.
I would buy this in a heart beat, get a white cat and a tank of sharks. Start a career as a super villain on the cheap.
...never looked so awesome. Although including a lifetime supply of Doritos and Snacky-cakes would sweeten the deal to where all the 30-somethings still living at home wouldn't be able to resist.
"I hope you know how very lucky you are to know me, because I am so incredibly incredible."
There's one or 2 of these on the market every few years...
Here's an old Radar base up for sale for £250k
http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/InverbervieCEWRadarStation
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
Sure it does look like our P2P servers will last longer than humanity in the case of a nuclear Armageddon. : P
There's actually been a bit of a boom in these underground data bunkers in recent years, but there are also plenty of "nuke-proof" data center projects projects that have failed due to cost issues. It's more challenging than you think to prepare a subterranean environment to meet the standards for hosting servers for enterprises - who are usually the target customers due to the high cost of finishing the space. There are plenty of old military facilities available for retrofits, including one that's been listed on eEBay a few times. But the old military facilities are now competing against caves - the state of Missouri has been trying to pass economic incentives to convince developers to covnert the state's many limestone caves into disaster recovery centers.
RichM
Data Center Knowledge
I've actually been in that bunker a few years ago when I was in the cadets at school - was great fun getting to explore it; although it was more fun getting to play with a fully automatic rifle in a shooting range ;)
I can buy this, and then brag to the other cults that it's SO much better than THEIR end of the world refuges.
I've spent numerous weeks training at Cultybraggan with the OTC, though never got to see inside the bomb shelter. That would have made for some amazing piss-ups.
How much will shipping to the US cost?
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
It's not a bad location, actually. Not too far from Edinburgh or Glasgow, for when you want to do big-city things, but on the edge of the Highlands, for when you want some nice scenery. And of course a bunker at your feet for when you want to be left alone. Win, win, win!
http://alternatives.rzero.com/
I want to put all my servers next to the fireplace. Just for safety's sake.
I used to work with a facility 100 feet underground, it was an old limestone quarry, more like a mine really. Anyhow they have these all over the St. Louis area, most of them are used for warehouse space. They are a constant temp about 68F and constant humidity.
The biggest problem we had was Limestone dust, it got into everything, killed dozens of hard drives. Once we got filtered air to an enclosed space everything was fine. Power seemed to be good most of the time, we still had UPS units. The only other big issue was getting new circuits to the demarc, if you're having one put in, have them run as many lines as you can afford, getting new ones takes a while.
Lastly you need borderline submariners to work there, no windows, nothing but artifical light, its psychological but some folks can't take it. I was there one week while they were recruiting and one gal quit on her first day.
Anyone wanting to see some photos of the place can look here:
- http://www.scottish-places.info/features/moregpix7987.html
- http://www.secretscotland.org.uk/index.php/Secrets/Cultybraggan
There are also some videos on YouTube.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
That picture is of the mess hall in a nissen hut in the camp, not of the interior of the bunker!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Even Better North Bay Ontario has a HUGE Underground complex looking to be decommissioned by the FEDS. http://www.buttonvilleflyingclub.com/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=2790 TOUR the Underground
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFB_North_Bay
With the formation of NORAD in the 1950s and the US's introduction of the SAGE system, CFB North Bay was selected as the Canadian counterpart to the US's Cheyenne Mountain control center. A SAGE installation was set up at the base starting in 1959, but unlike their US counterparts which were at ground level, in North Bay the entire standard three story installation was buried underground in what became known as "the hole". Later the base was also used as the control center for the Ontario portion of the two-site BOMARC missile system installed in the 1960s.
Just live someplace no one is likely to bother bombing...
It's probably a lot cheaper.
Theirs doesn't have a jacuzzi and lacks basic amenities such as steam showers and nuclear reactor.
Seriously, if you wanted a 'continental footprint', /. could move in there. I want to keep my net connection in North America, so I don't think I would find this bunker useful. I will have to read the article to find out what it also includes, like water (plumbing), power, access to roads, heat/cooling facilities, and local internet trunk lines. The blurb also doesn't say boo about square feet/square meters of space, and how solid the building currently remains. Extras might include distance to local amenities, although being in Scotland I would expect that there might be a pub or place to get some good Scotch Whisky nearby. Also proximity to night life (birds) might be a good thing to know, especially if you have a bunker full of geeks: it already has 'the parents basement' feel to it, but you might want to let them out and feel awkward somewhere, therefore the pub, birds, etc.
You can have your cold, dark Scottish bunker. I'll be sitting in my hurricane-proof reinforced to withstand a 20-megaton blast at a range of 2.5 miles down in Key Largo:
http://www.co-buildings.com/southeast/305/key_largo_1.jpg
Yes, it even has an ocean view. Two, really, since if you look east you see the Atlantic, and if you look west you see the Gulf of Mexico.
Haggis vs. Coconut Shrimp
Stella vs. Corona
Whiskey vs. Margaritas
Pale vs. Tan
Highlands women vs. college girls on spring break
Yeah, you can keep your bunker.
"Study your math, kids. Key to the universe." -The Archangel Gabriel
Sorry, the major threat facing ISPs and entities that defy governments is the plain old subpoena. If they ever try to bomb your bunker, you'll already be in a legal shit hole.
none
I'd buy it for the culty braggin' name alone, but... a nuclear bunker with a chimney? Is that for collecting the fallout?
While cool, its not all THAT uncommon. There are tons of these scattered around the US and other countries. Shoot, I know someone who owns one, and moved his electronics company there. Been in it a few times.
Problem is, these bunkers are usually out in the middle of nowhere, and not in the best of condition. Once you purchase from the US government, you have to fix it up (my friend had several water pumps to pump out where water leaked into it), then you have to pay a buttload to get halfway decent internet out there. If you are going to be running an ISP, you are probably going to be sinking twice the amount of the bunker, or more, into retrofitting and fiber lines to the nearest major city.
Most people who have these simply have them for the "whoa, cool" factor.