Ben West
@westbywest.bsky.social
370 followers 180 following 660 posts
Scattered minutiae about tech, plants, St. Louis, occasionally all together
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Reposted by Ben West
lookitup.baby
Boss, we’ve got a problem. Users don’t want this stuff! They keep wanting to turn it off, even when we keep turning it back on!

Boss: I have an idea
westbywest.bsky.social
Twas only a matter of time before life started imitating this particular art.
Reposted by Ben West
mmasnick.bsky.social
This is an embarrassingly bad article and @thenation.com should feel bad for publishing it. If you're going to publish something about Section 230, could you maybe not misrepresent how it works?
Reposted by Ben West
connerkerrigan.substack.com
There's no future in data centers. The City of St. Louis should reject any proposal to build a new one within the city's borders.

connerkerrigan.substack.com/p/there-is-n...
Reposted by Ben West
hayao.lol
'Ophelia' (1852)
the Tate, London
Sir John Everett Millais
Paul D'Amato
from his 'Water for the People' series 
a woman in a white dress floating in her back in a flooded street next to a car and a couple of bystanders, her arms extended
Reposted by Ben West
thetnholler.bsky.social
Amazing what happens when you give the guy a plane
westbywest.bsky.social
$165k/yr ea for 30 site operators (10 @ 3 shifts) seems above present rates? Even the janitors?
westbywest.bsky.social
THO shared Zoom recording:
- FAQ starts 1:32:00
- 30 long term direct jobs, $165k/yr (O_o)
- Ameren can support projected load, but DID NOT say if new power plant needed in near future
- Harrzler said $5.5M/yr utility bill, Gemini estimates up to 7MW/yr
drive.google.com/file/d/16Ftd...
video1414567381.mp4
drive.google.com
westbywest.bsky.social
4/4 * Zoom host said the last part of the call would cover frequently asked questions, kept deferring topics like new power plants to this section. I could only listen to the 1st 90 mins, and the host has not responded to my request for a meeting transcript or recording. (The call was recorded.)
westbywest.bsky.social
3/4 - THO's consultants can't name ANY confirmed clients who would be generating the promised $213M of revenue.
- They're not talking about anything in the Armory itself.
- Good news: 500 Prospect Ave center would use closed-loop cooling with far less water intake demand.
westbywest.bsky.social
2/4 - THO wouldn't answer* multiple questions whether this center would require a new power plant.
- THO wouldn't answer multiple questions how many employees the center would have once built.
- The "fair" rate to Ameren this data center would pay hasn't even been approved yet!
westbywest.bsky.social
1/4 These schemes come here because SB4 obligates residents to pay for new power plants, capacity that would mostly be used by the data centers.

- THO repeatedly said the 500 Prospect Ave project won't raise bills, but *utility regulator* PSC says the opposite. www.stlpr.org/economy-busi...
Consultants met with complaints during first town hall on Armory data center proposal
Concerned St. Louis residents made their thoughts known about a proposed $1.5 billion data center project that developers hope to build on the premises of the shuttered Armory building in Midtown.
www.stlpr.org
westbywest.bsky.social
Notable that presenters WILL NOT divulge who clients for this massive data center will be. Thus far also bunting on multiple residents' question whether the project will require new electricity generation.
Reposted by Ben West
elkmovie.bsky.social
The good news is that if he declares martial law we'll probably get an early heads-up because somebody will hand him a note saying "you're declaring martial law"
Reposted by Ben West
lolennui.bsky.social
So cool that whenever someone asks the president, “did you eat the Lindbergh baby” he’s like, “no but I’d be allowed to, I have the right to, I might do it later”
westbywest.bsky.social
Re #1, apt commentary I read was the expectation that an individual espouses any consistent ideology would be as reasonable as the expectation they have a consistent wardrobe in their closet.
westbywest.bsky.social
CSB, for when you need that shit turned down
Turn that shit down!
Reposted by Ben West
pinktweets.bsky.social
Three more days until he doesn't win the Nobel Peace Prize.
westbywest.bsky.social
Surprised to see LinkedIn coming in at #3 on the list of evil tracking apps, with Meta apps naturally at both #1 and #2
annaleen.bsky.social
A lot of the apps on your phone are tracking your physical location and selling that information to other companies. Here's a fantastic explainer from @pcmag.com about 20 of the most common apps that spy on you. Service journalism at its finest. www.pcmag.com/explainers/t...
These 20 Apps Are Watching You—And You Probably Use Them Every Day
You might use these apps every day, but have no idea what they collect. These 20 apps are quietly harvesting your location, contacts, photos, and more—here's what you can do about it.
www.pcmag.com
westbywest.bsky.social
Remember that SLMPD specifically cited SAPA in their inability to act on previous alarming behavior of the 2022 CVPA school shooter. #MOleg and frmr Gov. Parson have blood on their hands.
lauraannstl.bsky.social
Missouri’s controversial GOP-backed gun law that banned local police from enforcing federal gun laws was rejected by SCOTUS.

The law imposed $50K fines for officers who enforced federal gun laws, including possession of firearms by some domestic violence offenders & weapons registration/tracking.
U.S. Supreme Court won't revive Missouri gun law that banned enforcement of federal rules
Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, passed in 2021 and signed by then-Gov. Mike Parson at a Kansas City gun shop, was criticized by local governments, local police and others. The U.S. Justi...
www.kcur.org