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Joined 16 days ago
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Cake day: May 6th, 2026

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  • I recently watched a video about the first electronic synthesizer. It was built in 1897, and was housed in the basement of an entire city block in NYC. Several decades later, and it would fit in a suitcase, with far more functionality. It worked, but it was huge and unwieldly, to the point of being completely impractical. It needed to wait until the technology caught up to it, and made it a truly viable instrument, and not just a concept.

    Data Centers are like that 1897 synthesizer. It works, sure, but at what cost? It’s expensive in every way, from the building costs, the energy costs, the environmental costs, etc. We have a concept and a prototype, but not a truly viable product yet. Maybe in a decade or two, with a proper goal in mind, we can get there, but right now, Data Centers are just that big, dumb synthesizer that takes up a city block.






  • Herbs.

    Grow a pot, or a clump, of chives, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and a bunch of different hot peppers from jalapenos on up to really hot ones.

    Those spices will make the stuff you do cook at home taste much better, especially being fresh. Some of them, like chives and thyme, will come back next year. Stick them on a pot, and pring them in over the winter. Also, grow a LOT of basil. It grows slowly, and you can use a lot of it.











  • We did that for one of the books. We even invited the kid down the street to go with us, for a Tuesday Midnight release on a school night. He told us his Mom said it was all right and off we went.

    We had a great night, ate dinner, wandered around the store (the friend had never been in a book store before), and finally bought the book at midnight, and headed home.

    We got to his house, and I walked him to the door, and knocked. His Mom answered, and I said, “Here he is, everything went great, he had fun!”

    And she said: “Oh! I thought he was in bed. I hadn’t heard from him all night, I just assumed that’s where he was. Oh, well, thanks!” And shut the door.

    She’d never known that her kid was gone all evening long and until about 1 AM, and wasn’t even concerned about it.