Tweeting from GridSec conference this week

Howdy from Dallas. This is the evolution of Mike Ahmadi's Smart Grid Security East and West events, which have been running twice a year since the fiest one in San Jose in 2010. Will shoot to summarize key messages in a post when it's over, but also will blurt out the occasional tweet on the fly using the #GridSec hash tag on Twitter.

Life's Rich Pageant: Smart Grid Resistance Movements

Since I've been covering their emergence, Smart Meters, the gateway drug for the Smart Grid, have been  alleged to do some or all of the following:

• Cause confusion or brain cancer
• Facilitate attack by foreign nations
• Help utilities get rich by cranking up rates forever
• Give Barack Obama control of your house
• Signal criminals when your house is ready to be robbed
• Reveal to the government when you're doing naughty things
• Reduce fertility in laboratory mice

These stories pop up all over, but here's the latest from Maine and California. And lest you think this is a phenomenon unique to the USA alone, here's a vigilant gentleman chiming in from north of the border:

... these so-called 'Smart Meters' may be deliberately 'tricked' to register a higher consumption reading than is actually true. Obviously, this would produce more revenue for the greedy utilities and the greedy governments which are constantly looking for new ways to screw the people.

Well said Sir! And tell you what - if after reading these you find yourself converted, you can go HERE for all your anti-Smart Meter propaganda needs including bumper stickers and yard signs.

We're trying to update the grid for the 21st century: bringing better efficiencies, improving reliability, and enabling greatly increased use of renewables and EVs, and this is the response from some folks.

As Charlie Brown used to say, "Good grief."

Photo credit: "Radio Waves" by Thomas Anderson on Flickr.com