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Reposted by Trey Lawson

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 1h

Tomorrow: The AI Bubble is built on impossible promises. GPUs die in 5 years, nobody has built a 1GW data center, and they have the power to do so. Stargate Abilene won't have enough power before 2028.

Here's a link for $10 off premium.

edzitronswheresyouredatghostio.outpost.pub/public/promo...

Everybody is very casual with how they talk about Sam Altman’s theoretical promises of trillions of dollars of data center infrastructure, and I'm not sure anybody realizes how difficult even the very basics of this plan will be.
Nevertheless, everybody is happily publishing stories about how “Stargate Abilene Texas - OpenAI’s massive data center with Oracle - is open,” by which they mean two buildings, and I’m not even confident both of them are providing compute to OpenAI yet. There are six more of them that need to get built for this thing to start rocking at 1.2GW - even though it’s only 1.1GW according to my sources in Abilene.
But, hey, sorry - one minute - while we’re on that subject, did anybody visiting Abilene in the last week or so ever ask whether they’ll have enough power there?
Don’t worry, you don’t need to look - I’m sure you were just about to, and had simply been busy! - but I did the hard work for you and read up on it, and it turns out that Stargate Abilene only has 200 megawatts of power - a 200 megawatt substation that, according to my sources, has only been built within the last couple of months, with 350 Megawatt of gas turbine generators that connect to a natural gas power plant that might get built by the end of the year in the event that one of the multiple construction firms involved . Said turbine is extremely expensive, featuring volatile pricing (for context, volatility fell in Q2 2025…to 69% annualized, meaning that if you had these prices across the entirety of a year you’d see swings of 69% up or down) and even more volatile environmental consequences, and is, while permitted for it (this will download the PDF of the permit), impractical and expensive to use long-term.
Analyst James van Geelen, founder of Citrini Research recently said on Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast that these are “not the really good natural gas turbines” because the really good ones would take seven years to deliver due to a natural gas turbine shortage.
But th…

$Stargate Abilene does not have sufficient power to run at even half of its supposed IT load of 1.2GW, and at its present capacity - assuming that the gas turbines function at full power - can only hope to run 370MW to 460MW of IT load. I’ve seen article after article about the gas turbines and their use of fracked gas - a disgusting and wasteful act typical of OpenAI - but nobody appears to have asked “how much power does a 1.2GW data center require?” and then chased it with “how much power does Stargate Abilene have?” The answer is not enough, and the significance of said “not enough” is remarkable. Today, I’m going to tell you, at length, how impossible the future of generative AI is. Gigawatt data centers are a ridiculous pipe dream, one that runs face-first into the walls of reality. The world’s governments and media have been far too cavalier with the term “gigawatt,” casually breezing by the fact that Altman’s plans require 17 or more nuclear reactors’ worth of power, as if building power is quick and easy and cheap and just happens. I believe that many of you think that this is an issue of permitting - of simply throwing enough money at the problem - when we are in the midst of a shortage in the electrical grade steel and transformers required to expand America (and the world’s) power grid. I realize it’s easy to get blinded by the constant drumbeat of “gargoyle-like tycoon cabal builds 1 gigawatt data center” and feel that they will simply overwhelm the problem with money, but no, I’m afraid that isn’t the case at all, and all of this is so silly, so ridiculous, so cartoonishly bad that it threatens even the seemingly-infinite wealth of Elon Musk, with xAI burning over a billion dollars a month and planning to spend tens of billions of dollars building the Colossus 2 data center, dragging two billion dollars from SpaceX in his desperate quest to burn as much money as possible for no reason. This is the age of hubris - a time in which we are going to watc…$

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 3h

As the administration goes all in on an alternate reality about portland that bears no resemblance to fact and rule of law, continuing radical (and just plain funny, ridiculing) acts of the imagination along with other ways of getting out the reality on the ground may help curb their momentum.

fake film poster with a sunset and the portland frog protestor with words The Portland War, A Film by Ken Burns

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Don Linn @donlinn.bsky.social · 1h

Claim and celebrate ALL the victories

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 3h

A library director in Wyoming who was fired two years ago because she refused to remove books with sexual content and LGBTQ themes from a library’s children and young adult sections was awarded $700,000 in a settlement on Wednesday.

Librarian Fired in Books Dispute to Receive $700,000 Settlement

County officials in Wyoming fired Terri Lesley, a library director, after she refused to purge children and young adult books that contained sexual content and L.G.B.T.Q. themes.

nyti.ms

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Faine Greenwood @faineg.bsky.social · 3h

You know how there’s been this big push towards encouraging older people to do puzzles, cognitive games, and to learn new things to keep them from succumbing to dementia?

Wonder where that’s gonna go with the rise of “outsource your cognitive functions to AI, it’ll be convenient” culture

SteveIsDamaged @steveisdamages.bsky.social · 3h

Cognition is like strength. Use is required to not just gain, but maintain. The more thinking and cognitive work we offload, the duller we become as a result.

It's like deciding you'll use a mobility scooter without need and then figuring out a year later that you can no longer walk.

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 5h

after careful study, I believe only people born between 1975 and 1995 should be allowed to use the internet

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Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 4h

Today is @realgdt.bsky.social’s birthday, & in addition to being a (imitates movie trailer voice) visionary director, he’s a smart, funny, kind person. I met him in 2009 at a book signing, when I lived in NY & had a shitty camera. Despite being under the weather he took his time with everyone there.

Guillermo del Toro in 2009 at the Union Square Barnes & Noble

The Strain signed by its authors (with a self portrait by GDT)

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 4h

NEW: Federal judge dismisses Drake's defamation case against Kendrick Lamar storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The issue in this case is whether "Not Like Us" can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors. In light of the overall context in which the statements in the Recording were made, the Court holds that it cannot.

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Christina Orlando @cxorlando.bsky.social · 5h

feed me your booooooooooks

Christina Orlando @cxorlando.bsky.social · Aug 1

I don't know how it got to be the end of summer but...

Hi! I'm the book content editor for Reactor Mag and I'm looking for 2026 sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and crossover speculative books! If you've got an adult or YA SFFH book publishing next year please share the link/info here!

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Dr. Damien P. Williams Wants A Better Sociotechnical Paradigm @wolvendamien.bsky.social · 1d

The current paradigm of "AI"— all of its, e.g., embedded values, design, cultural deployment, & structural affordances— has been repeatedly demonstrated to harm both critical skills development & the structure & maintenance of the relational social fabric.

That sounds pretty anti-pedagogical, to me

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 1d

“One of the negative consequences AI is having on students is that it is hurting their ability to develop meaningful relationships with teachers, the report finds. Half of the students agree that using AI in class makes them feel less connected to their teachers.”

Rising Use of AI in Schools Comes With Big Downsides for Students

A report by the Center for Democracy and Technology looks at teachers' and students' experiences with the technology.

www.edweek.org

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Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 6h

Heck yeah

a man with a beard and mustache is smiling for the camera

ALT: a man with a beard and mustache is smiling for the camera

media.tenor.com

Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 6h

👀

Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 9h

My next book will be a biography of Jack Nicholson, written as an epic story of the transformation of the movie industry and modern masculinity from the 1950s to the present, with Nicholson as the main character. The title: Leading Man.

New York Times bestselling author and film & TV critic at New York Magazine Matt Zoller Seitz's LEADING MAN, the definitive biography of Jack Nicholson, casting Nicholson as the complex main character in an era of American culture spanning six decades, while shining a light on the actor’s crucial role in shaping modern masculinity, both on and off the screen, based on new interviews and original reporting, to Amar Deol at Grand Central, in an exclusive submission, by Ethan Bassoff at WME.

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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 7h

Everyone is lying except the people we know lie to us multiple times per day

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8h

Kristi Noem: "I was in Portland and met with the governor and mayor and chief of police and superintendent of the highway patrol. They are all lying and disingenuous and dishonest people. Because as soon as you leave the room, then they make the exact opposite response."

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Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 9h

My understanding is the host segments should be added to Shudder’s “Just Joe Bob” playlist at some point soon (presumably they don’t have streaming rights for the movies)

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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 9h

This is so disappointing from Miller, a guy known for his diligence and attention to every creative detail. AI couldn't do Babe: Pig in the City, and I know that sounds like sarcasm, but have you seen that movie lately? It's so gloriously weird.

Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 1d

‘AI is here to stay and change things’: Mad Max director George Miller on why he is taking part in an AI film festival

The director believes AI has made film-making ‘way more egalitarian’ – and is set to lead the judges at Omni AI film festival in Australia There’s no arguing the use of artificial intelligence in film-making is getting a bad rap. Last week’s unveiling of Hollywood’s first AI “actress”, Tilly Norwood, generated howls of protest from actors’ unions across the UK and US, where the industry is still reeling from last year’s 118-day strike over, among other issues, the threat of AI. And earlier this week, Australia’s Productivity Commission was pilloried by Liberals and Greens alike for failing to recognise the dire impact AI may have on the country’s creative industries. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 10h

A good example of Dems not adapting to MAGA war mindset is that they keep telling reporters they can't engage on Trump's military occupations because it's a "trap" to entice them into a losing debate about crime. That concedes too much up front and plays by old rules.
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

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Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 10h

I used to be really good at that. Even before becoming an English major (which basically requires that as a learned skill) I regularly juggled 2-3 books at a time. These days, not so much.

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

genuinely think they are feeding him AI videos

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."

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Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 1d

It is very much a Non-Canonical take, but a local sandwich chain here does what they call the "Reuben Variation," which subs pastrami brisket for the corned beef, Muenster cheese, and the option of kraut or coleslaw plus German mustard & their house-made sauce. Pretty dang tasty.

John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 1d

Accurate

theonion.com/report-reube...

Report: Reuben Rated Top Midsize Sandwich In Its Class

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA—Praising its standard features and overall dependability, J.D. Power and Associates released a new set of rankings Thursday, naming the Reuben the number-one midsize sandwich in i...

theonion.com

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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 1d

"WE MAKE NEWS LOUDER. IF STORY GOOD ON ONE SIDE, SHOW OTHER SIDE TOO. OTHER SIDE WRONG? OTHER SIDE WANT BLEACH IN VEINS? ANIMAL RUN BOTH. REPORT BOTH SIDES. EVEN WHEN ONE SIDE THINK HEAD MEDS MAKE QUIET BABIES."

“AAAGGGHHH!!!” A Memo from Animal, Your New Editor-in-Chief

“[Editor-in-chief of CBS News] Bari Weiss told network staffers in a morning editorial call that she wants to ‘win’ before delivering a rallying cr...

buff.ly

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 1d

Everyone can set aside partisanship, psychologizing, pathologizing, whatever, and—I would hope—still see that it’s incredibly dangerous for a political leader to be this disconnected from the real conditions in the country.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "I don't know what could be worse than Portland. You don't even have stores anymore. They don't even put glass up. They put plywood on their windows."

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Trey Lawson @tlawson.bsky.social · 1d

I imagine there is (for others, not me) a certain thrill in thinking that the performer is going off-script, creating a unique moment - even though it's more likely they have a set of stock riffs to apply broadly to different situations each show.

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 1d

no they're LITERALLY exaggerating this issue. there is absolutely no data backing up their claims. ffs just say that!!

NBC news: The discussions come as Trump has sought to deploy National Guard troops in several major cities — including Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon — saying they’re needed to reduce crime and protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from protesters. Critics have said that the Trump administration is exaggerating issues in those cities.

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Dante Atkins @danteatkins.bsky.social · 1d

"We took freedom of speech away" is probably the most honest thing Trump has said or done in a long time

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

Trump: "We took the freedom of speech away because that's been through the courts and the courts said you have freedom of speech, but what has happened is when they burn a flag it agitates and irritates crowds."

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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 1d

The day Trump declares that he "took the freedom of speech away," we get polling showing that even 40% of Republicans think that Trump's improperly punished people who say things he disagrees with.
www.pbump.net/o/even-2-in-...

Even 2 in 5 Republicans understand Trump is impeding free speech

It's not often the case that you will be working on a quick article about something only to have the president of the United States directly validate your thesis. But it happens occasionally, particul...

www.pbump.net

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