Next Meeting – Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 6:30pm EDT.
Octobers meeting is an open discussion on data centers and the issues surrounding them. Data centers are a contentious political topic right now. There are a series of things mentioned as reasons to oppose data centers. Let’s discuss the pros and cons. Not to support or oppose them but to be more informed.
Some of the issues that are mentioned when opposing data centers:
- They use too much water.
How much water do they use?
Is there an alternative? My home air conditioner doesn’t use water. - They will raise our electric rates.
There are now more than 100 datacenters around the country. Have the rates gone up? - There will be an over build and we will be stuck paying for the extra capacity.
- They make too much noise.
What is making the noise?
Computer rooms are noisy. Is that the noise?
Electric generators make noise. Can that be shielded? - They are too big.
How big are they? The one being built in Saline Michigan looks big by any standard.
Do they have to be that big? Would a lot of smaller buildings be almost as effective? - We don’t need them.
How much of the power is used to train models.
How much is used to process AI requests?
Is there a current unit of measure for processing power?
Can they be anywhere in the world?
Short presentation:
For the short presentation on a Unix/Linux topic we’re going to be talking about watch. The program that lets you execute a program periodically.