Yogi. Again, A Split Decision. No Nonsense Nadal. Data Center Dilemma. Breakfast for Dinner. Stanley Clarke’s School Days.
- Quote of the Week: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” — Yogi Berra
Lorenzo Pietro Berra, a.k.a. Yogi Berra was born in 1925, played nineteen seasons in Major League Baseball, all but the last one for the New York Yankees. Better known by his first name, “Yogi”, Berra played on some of the famous Yankee teams hitting .285 with 358 career home runs. He was a fifteen-time All-Star, a 3-time American League MVP, and a 10-time World Series champion.
Yogi Berra’s quote reminds us to make a decision and move forward when facing life’s choices, rather than paralyzing yourself with indecision. When faced with a dilemma and needing to make a decision, we sometimes overthink the issue to a point of ‘paralysis by over analysis’ – where the fear of making the wrong decision stops us from making any move at all.
To help with making the decision:
- The 70% rule makes us gather about 70% of the needed information, with the other 30% figured out through action, etc.
- Narrow down the options because too many choices create confusion and delusion. Eliminate the many options down to two and then revert to the 70/30 rule above.
- Timeline: without a discernible and designated set time to make the decision, the dilemma can be never-ending. Whether it is ten minutes or two days, set a time and stick to it to make the decision.
Yogi Berra’s career was more than just professional baseball. He was a Navy gunner and part of the D-Day invasion, and often offered up some very interesting “Yogi-isms” that are still used today:
- “It’s like deja vu all over again.”
- “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
- “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.“
- “Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
- “Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.”
- “I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.”
Here is another view of decision-making. Whether you like or enjoy Jeff Bezos, his points on how NOT to make a decision make a good bit of sense:
Question of the Week: Last week’s question asked you about the Lindsay Clancy murder mistrial. The sixty hours of deliberation resulted in one juror holding out with a different perspective than the other eleven jurors. I asked you if she was guilty of first-degree murder, or not guilty by reason of insanity. Here are the answers from JustMyTake readers. The twelve responses: two no decisions, five guilty, and five not guilty
- Guilty.
- Since: there was no evidence while being treated Prior to January 24, 2023; her husband seeing no signs; the premeditated actions she took prior to committing this alleged crime. The prosecution now needs to prove beyond a reasonable doubt for 1st degree murder that she did not, in a constant state of any unstable mental illness, commit this crime. So, did the prosecution prove that she did not have a criminally insane moment beyond a reasonable doubt? The doubt to me is just that because she attempted suicide after killing her three children…And If prosecution saw this same doubt, the charges of 2nd degree or involuntary manslaughter fit the crime. Foundation: If found not guilty she still goes into a psychiatric facility for mentally ill for the same term if she had been found guilty… Vote: ”Not Guilty” of 1st degree!!!
- I think she knew exactly what she was doing. Guilty
- Like you, I didn’t follow the case in detail but tried to understand the overview. If there are only 2 choices, I will go with the latter, not guilty by reason of insanity. I don’t like the “insanity” term, but I do believe that the stress, number of pharmaceutical drugs — and the combo, can make a person act insanely. (I don’t think most people have a concept of how much a drug, even those prescribed, can alter one’s behavior, emotions, and thinking. I also feel that her attempt at her own life and the husband supporting her (after his own loss) speaks volumes. Yes…not guilty by reason of insanity.
- Here’s my response to this week’s question. Not sure the best way to phrase it: I’m ok with a verdict of “Not guilty by reason of insanity” as long as she spends significant time in a mental institution and/or prison. The fact of the matter is, she looked into the eyes of those children, her own children, and took away theirs lives. She had to be or is insane.
- Gary: like the question – you’re not gonna like this response …. I really didn’t pay attention to the details of the trial. If I were a juror, I would weigh the reality of postpartum depression with seeking justice for those three innocent children. I am concerned that in this crazy world ruling insanity sets up likelihood of copycat situations in the future. No verdict.
- I unfortunately did not watch enough of the trial to render judgment on Clancy’s guilt or innocence. I do understand the holdout’s vote was “Guilty” and the remainder of the panel was upset that he would not accept the Court’s instructions on what constitutes reasonable doubt. Certainly, post-partum depression can affect behaviors to a significant degree; such that if there was significant evidence of its presence, one can say she lacked the ability to appreciate her own actions. Thus, she lacked what’s called the Mens Rae (guilty mind). Tough to be a Monday Morning quarterback unless you watched the entire trial. No verdict.
- While she obviously is insane for doing what she did, I would have said guilty.
- Not guilty by reason of insanity, not premeditated, no mother who is sane at the time would do this.
- Guilty. In my opinion, she had the mental capacity to plan the killing of her three children: From Bay Area ABC TV: Lindsay texted Patrick asking him to pick up takeout from a local restaurant (ThreeV) and to stop at a CVS pharmacy for medication (Pedia-Lax). She was in the right mind to text him and ask him to pick up specific items… knowing it would take at least thirty minutes for him to return home. Planned and premeditated.
- Not guilty – a very mentally unstable mother.
- I would vote guilty.
On the lighter side of things, here is this week’s Question of the Week: What is your favorite excuse to leave a boring situation early?
- ‘If’.………………………… This two-letter word was never better explained. Rafael Nadal quickly and decisively describing tennis professional Nick Kyrios. “If” did not resonate with Rafael Nadal.
- Existing and planned data centers are raising concerns in communities across the United States. Both urban and rural residents are pushing back for various reasons. Because I support artificial intelligence (AI)—provided its use is governed by appropriate regulations, guidelines, and guardrails—I decided to step back and better understand data centers and concerns.
First, the purpose of a data center. A data center is a large, highly secure facility filled with computer servers, networking equipment, storage systems, backup power, and cooling systems. Its job is to store, process and transmit enormous amounts of digital information. Every time you stream a movie, send an email, use online banking, upload a photograph, ask an AI system a question, or conduct business through the internet, data is being processed somewhere—and increasingly, that processing takes place in data centers.
The purpose is clear but why are so many data centers being built across the United States? The development is due to the exploding demand for computing power. Artificial intelligence is accelerating that demand because AI systems require enormous numbers of specialized computer processors to train models and provide responses to users. At the same time, companies are moving more of their operations to cloud computing, and consumers are generating more photographs, videos, messages, and other digital information than ever before. This demand has motivated developers to source locations with abundant electricity, suitable land, fiber-optic connectivity, access to water or other cooling resources, and proximity to major population or business centers. Technology companies are demanding that they have computing capacity close to their customers.
Here is one example: Oracle’s Project Jupiter—a campus larger than New York’s Central Park—would train AI models using as much power as about 1.8 million homes. New Mexico state officials have repeatedly denied the permit for a critical natural gas pipeline, citing potential greenhouse gas emissions and dwindling water supplies.
New Mexico’s concerns are echoed across the United States. The reasons, in no particular order:
- The physical footprint required to build data centers impedes on private/public land.
- Data centers consume massive amounts of electricity, sometimes requiring new power lines and substations. Could this lead to utilities raising their pricing for local residents?
- Water requirements and usage. As mentioned above, Oracle’s project in New Mexico could require millions of gallons of water daily, with state’s largest reservoir at 1.4% capacity, the lowest since 1971.
- Traffic. Thousands of workers commuting to data centers is wreaking havoc on roads. In Abilene, Texas, data center traffic has turned a ten-minute commute into a one-way, two-hour trip. Similar traffic woes have been reported in most areas where data centers exist.
The dilemma. As mentioned, I am a proponent of AI which means I should support data centers. Remember that data centers drive investment in construction, electrical infrastructure, and information technology. Data centers provide jobs, which stimulates economic activity, and subsequently property, local, and state tax revenues. For everyday living, data centers support the speed of cloud services without businesses needing to house enormous computer facilities, and most importantly support and improve AI development and usage.
Does data center development make communities examine the cost/benefits of proposed data centers? 100% yes, but without them, technological advancement will come to a screeching halt. That is my take…what is yours?
- I Tried It, I Liked It
I made a different type of dinner last week, and my dinner guests actually liked the ‘breakfast-for-dinner’ concept. This time I tried a very simple recipe for a sausage, egg, and potato casserole. The only extras were Pillsbury Honey Butter biscuits with strawberry and blueberry reserves, and of course Kerrygold Irish Butter.
There are many more ingredients you can add to this dish. Here are the easy ingredients and simple recipe I followed:
- 1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced.
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 lbs. of potatoes…diced.
- 1 tsp of dried thyme
- 1 onion….chopped. I am not an onion supporter so I went with 1/2 of an onion.
- Salt/pepper
- 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat your oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine the sausage, potatoes, onion, garlic powder, thyme, and salt/pepper. Place in a greased baking dish and top with the shredded cheese. Cover with foil, and bake for thirty minutes. Uncover and bake for approx. 15 more minutes (until golden brown).
Easy, quick, and different!
- Pure Talent. He started his music journey playing the violin and cello. In his teenage years, luckily for all of us, Stanley Clarke switched to the bass and went on to be a founding member of Chick Corea’s jazz fusion group, Return to Forever. Born in Philadelphia in 1951, Clark’s music contributions to the world of jazz and fusion have made him one of music history’s most celebrated and influential bassists.
My favorite from Stanley Clarke was the song, School Days. In my mind, one of the greatest bass players of all time. Stanley Clarke = Pure Talent.