Sunday Snippets 1.18.26
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This week on Sunday Snippets 1.18.26…
A week ago today, I was driving home, the sun was in my eyes, and I ran into my neighbor’s extra car in the street. I had not even accelerated after turning the corner onto our street, so I barely hit it.
It caused a scratch/scrape on their car, but when I turned into my driveway, got out, and looked, I was shocked. I just had that fender replaced on my 20-year-old car in August 2024, but they must not make them like they used to. My fender broke like a piece of hard plastic. And I’ve not driven the car since.
I don’t tend to go out much, so I may just use the car for doctors’ appointments and other errands. Because I sure don’t want to spend the money to replace the fender again.
Still, I must go out occasionally, maybe to see the dentist a mile from my home. My physician is about the same distance. I have my groceries and other necessities, like prescriptions, delivered. So there really isn’t much reason to need to go out otherwise. I’m not one of those people who go out just to go out.
Rhonda and I went to breakfast at a local diner on Tuesday. That’s the last time I’ve been out. And today it’s so cold I don’t want to go out.
What I’m Watching:
I’m in the fifth season of Homeland, which has eight seasons.
What It’s About
Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) returns home following eight years in captivity. CIA agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) thinks he has turned and is connected to a terror plot to be carried out on American soil. She draws him into a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that imperils America’s national security.
What I’m Reading:
I finished reading Theo of Golden and reviewed it this past week. If you’re in the mood to read a soothing and heartwarming book, this is it.
Now I’m reading Empire of AI by Karen Hao.
This is a pretty involved book about what happened from the early days of creating AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Amazon Blurb
When AI expert and investigative journalist Karen Hao first began covering OpenAI in 2019, she thought they were the good guys. Founded as a nonprofit with safety enshrined as its core mission, the organization was meant, its leader, Sam Altman, told us, to act as a check against more purely mercantile and potentially dangerous forces. What could go wrong?
Over time, Hao began to wrestle ever more deeply with that question. Increasingly, she realized that the core truth of this massively disruptive sector is that its vision of success requires an almost unprecedented amount of resources: the “compute” power of high-end chips and the processing capacity to create massive large language models, the sheer volume of data that needs to be amassed at scale, the humans “cleaning up” that data for sweatshop wages throughout the Global South, and a truly alarming spike in the usage of energy and water underlying it all.
The truth is that we have entered a new and ominous age of empire: only a small handful of globally scaled companies can even enter the field of play. At the head of the pack with its ChatGPT breakthrough, how would OpenAI resist such temptations?
Data Centers Energy & Water Usage:
AI data centers consume a lot of energy, which means we, the citizens, will pay more. Someone has to take on this cost, and it looks like it’s us. You can read about that fact right here. Aren’t you sick and tired of us having to cover ginormous costs we didn’t agree to?
Plus, these data centers need tons of water to cool their servers, so our water bill is going up, too. According to Consumer Fed: “Data Center water usage is equally as staggering. A single 100 MW facility can consume up to 2 million liters of water per day, equivalent to the needs of roughly 6,500 households.”
Many of these regions already face water scarcity. Given the steep costs to the American public, the question arises: What is sustaining this data center boom?
There were restrictive guidelines, but they were loosened by the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed some months ago. The act allocated $20 billion in federal investment to AI and data center capacity, spurring the construction of hundreds of new facilities across partner states like Texas, Arizona, and Illinois.
It’s already affected me. I’ve lost the bulk of my Google search traffic, which means my income is about a third of what it was this time last year. It’s worrisome to all content creators.
This article does a great job of outlining why timing matters with Enclomiphene and how it can affect outcomes. Valhalla Vitality explains it in a way that feels both educational and actionable. The emphasis on matching dosing with natural cycles rather than arbitrary times of day was particularly eye-opening. I also appreciated the approachable tone — not too technical, but still insightful. A very useful read for anyone interested in maximizing the effects of their hormone support.
https://valhallavitality.com/blog/the-best-time-to-take-enclomiphene
Brenda I wanted to let you know that I appreciate getting to read your blog! Please know that your writing is valued and please don’t let any callous comments be disheartening. Some people are just crappy.
Sorry that happened to you. I am not looking forward to PT this week and a routine mammogram and PT next week. I like to go out when I want and there is no snow, ice, harsh sunlight, crowds etc. They don’t make things like they used to. I am trying to eliminate plastic food containers and the Mason jars work great. Luckily, years ago I bought some large, wide mouth jars which I love. Bought some nice t shirt type short sleeve and long sleeve nightgowns from Amazon. I wanted all cotton and that was pretty expensive and the gowns were fancier with buttons and ruffles. No cotton fabric night wear to be found in Walmart either. I miss simple, real food and products that work and don’t harm us or the environment. Stay warm and safe everyone.
I like cotton too. It feels better against my skin.
I just hate A1, but I guess its here to stay for now.
I was telling Simon about your fender and he said they don’t make them as solid as they used to, now its more for looks.
I figured that. What a shame.
The sun glare us dangerous. I had a dentist appointment this past Monday morning, the sun glare was so bad that I passed right by the office and had to turn around further down the road, praying I wouldn’t miss it again on the way back. It was even bad wearing sun glasses. It is snowing here today as it was yesterday. Temperatures will be in the single digits here in PA a few nights this coming week with more snow being called for later in the week. I made a big pot of beef stew with grass fed beef cubes that Aldi’s had on special. Take care Brenda and keep warm. Glad to see I received the Sunday Snippets this week for some reason nothing came through last Sunday.
Should say is not us.