computer, bombard my amygdala with chinese misinformation. make me blindly furious about data centers, electricity generation, and every other technology america needs to win the 21st century. disable critical thinking

Legends of the Hidden Temple

Polling on data centers is really, really brutal. In WI, 76% of voters said "the costs outweigh the benefits," including 67% of Republicans. Gallup found 71% of Americans oppose one being built near them, incl. 80% of 18–34yos. Heatmap found 55% would support a *national ban.*

Chicago just called for a pause on data centers 🗄️ 🗄️ 🗄️ Worth looking at this in the context of where our tax base is at the moment Homeowners here just saw the biggest property tax increase in 30 years. Bills up 16.7%. The blame is mainly on downtown commercial values which puts the burden on homeowners So right in the middle of that, we’re talking about pausing a category of development bringing real $ to the city via tax rev The concerns in the EO around power, water, noise, etc. are fair. But the tech behind data centers are also changing quickly I visited QTS in Chicago a few months ago. They use closed loop cooling aka they don’t consume water to cool servers once operational / entire facility uses 600,000 gallons per year I also couldn’t hear a thing while on site 🦗 AND they pay 100% of their own energy Make them pay their own way. Set better standards around noise, water, and power. Make sure the economics benefit Chicago But important to know that the data centers being built today are not the data centers of 10 years ago. They are quieter, more water efficient and more efficient per unit of computing So a blanket moratorium doesn’t make the demand for compute disappear It just moves the investment, jobs and tax base somewhere else

Dear Mr. President, I’ve been thinking about this in the shower and I have a plan. The problem isn’t Iran. It’s the ship crews. These are my people. Merchant Mariners are an odd lot. “Show some guts” doesn’t work because these guys have crossed the North Atlantic in winter. They already know what they’ve got. We are a practical lot. Common sense, as you often say. So avenging our deaths by carpet bombing Iran, while a a generous token, doesn’t do much to motivate us. Dead is dead. You can’t collect on a life insurance policy if the underwriter at Lloyd’s has TDS, and most of them do. Plus those supertanker fires are nasty. Think AOC when she’s as old as Pelosi. Our phrase is Acta Non Verba. Actions, not words. So someone will have to sail through first. And it’s not enough to sail with AIS off under the cover of dark. Someone has to sail in broad daylight with an enormous American flag streaming over the stern. The biggest flag you’ve ever seen. Huge. It’s a show of flag exercise so we want something big. Step one: you need a Captain. Someone kinda well known. Handsome, ideally, a man of faith of course, debonair would be nice but we can work with what we’ve got. Here’s what I’ll do. I’m heading to the big CMA conference tomorrow and will recruit a crew. I’m a little rusty but a great crew can compensate for a lot of command failures. Ask any Admiral. My license needs to be renewed, and I’ll need someone to waive all those stupid classes the UN’s @IMOHQ wants me to take. Seven courses, Mr. President. To do the same job I’ve been doing for 30 years. Pete is a good judge of character, he can vouch for me. A note from the President to Admiral Lundy should do. Might be the fastest the Coast Guard has ever moved on anything. But I need a just a few small things in return. First, I need a SEAL team or equivalent. Just a small platoon but preferably one of those tier one guys if available. They can’t shoot down drones or anything, but they absolutely can tell me to man up when I inevitably say “WTF was I thinking.” Pete, if you’re reading this, feel free to send your best. I promise I will not make them sit through a PowerPoint. Also, I fully expect at least one Admiral in charge of the convoy frigates to do something dumb…. like epic level retarded… and SEALs are historically very good at straightening out Admirals. Consider it an interservice relations exercise. Next, we need some of those Navy Corpsmen. The crazy bastards who embed with Marines. If we get hit and my leg needs amputation, I want it done by a guy who’s done it before, not a guy who’s got s rusty saw and an ikea manual. That’s it. You don’t even need to pay me or my crew a cent. Honestly, this might be the best deal ever, and I know you’ve seen some deals. Oh, just one more thing. We want the same deal y’all gave Bruce Willis’s crew in Armageddon. No more federal taxes. For life. You’ve seen the movie, sir. That scene is basically a documentary about how to negotiate with the federal government. And if I don’t make it? I want to be buried next to Dad in Arlington, and my kids and wife get the no-taxes-ever thing. That’s the Captain Konrad family plan. Very competitive rates. Lastly, we’re going to need a few ships to follow us into Hormuz. Probably no more than ten. I suggest Filipino-crewed ships. They are the best mariners in the world, they are tough as hell, and they will not complain too much. Actually all mariners complain but I’ll have them do that part in tagalog. For the first ten ships that volunteer to follow me through, each crew gets one of your Golden Visas (brilliant idea, by the way) and a pork adobo cookout at the White House on a date of your choosing. I’ll even get one of the guys to send you the recipe. It’s delicious. Trust me. That’s about it. Just let me know what airport I should meet the jet at tomorrow afternoon. Very Best Regards, Captain John Konrad Master, Unlimited Tonnage US Merchant Marine

So what's going to happen to product management anyway? When I talk to mid-career PMs, I hear the same frustrations over and over: “I’m looking for a director role but all I see are individual contributor jobs.” “I want to work for an AI company but there are very few PM roles.” “I’m too tired to build at night after a day of back to back meetings.” I wrote 8 hot takes on where I think the PM role is headed next and why I'm actually optimistic. 📌 Read now: creatoreconomy.so/p/so-whats…