Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ's Avatar

Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ

@padresj.bsky.social

Catholic Priest Passionate about Tech and Science Jesuit in Rome Bots, edgelords & those who can't have a civil conversation are blocked. All opinions are my own

5,045 Followers  |  67 Following  |  2,462 Posts  |  Joined: 01.07.2023
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Posts by Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ (@padresj.bsky.social)

Yes.

It's at a bus stop in London. Right next to a Tesla showroom.

28.02.2026 21:13 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image 28.02.2026 15:10 β€” πŸ‘ 55    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

Mein Orange

28.02.2026 14:17 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I wonder if FIFA wants their "World Peace" participation trophy back.

28.02.2026 13:52 β€” πŸ‘ 57    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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there's a tweet for everything

28.02.2026 07:45 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"You're going to end up in World War III if we listen to Hillary Clinton"

- Donald Trump, October 2016

28.02.2026 07:28 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Bet

28.02.2026 07:27 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey... uh... if you're the person who left your Apple Vision Pro in St. Peter's I'd like to help get it back to you. πŸ˜‡

It might take a few weeks.

In the meantime, could I get your password so I can make sure it's still working properly? 😏

kthnksbye! 🀣

28.02.2026 06:14 β€” πŸ‘ 40    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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Anthropic:
"Look, we need the contracts, but we cannot allow our service to be used to violate the US Constitution or power automated weapons that could kill millions.

When it comes down to it, we love this country too much to be involved in its downfall."

OpenAI:
"We'll do it!"

28.02.2026 04:48 β€” πŸ‘ 603    πŸ” 241    πŸ’¬ 19    πŸ“Œ 17
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Trump orders federal agencies to stop using Anthropic technology in dispute over AI safety President Donald Trump says he's ordering all federal agencies to phase out use of Anthropic technology after the company’s unusually public dispute with the Pentagon over artificial intelligence safe...

Consider:

When the President of the United States claims that Anthropic is a national security risk because they

*checks notes*

won't allow mass surveillance of US citizens in violation of the Constitution

... maybe the REAL national security risk is the President?

apnews.com/article/anth...

28.02.2026 00:04 β€” πŸ‘ 52    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Lauren Boebert FALLS ON HER FACE when asked to define inflation
YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen Lauren Boebert FALLS ON HER FACE when asked to define inflation

We need to stop electing people who are shamelessly ignorant of the knowledge required to properly do their jobs.

youtube.com/shorts/Gq1DP...

27.02.2026 22:50 β€” πŸ‘ 44    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

We're at the point at which it's easier to list senior Trump admin officials who AREN'T in the Epstein files.

27.02.2026 15:29 β€” πŸ‘ 47    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm glad you're still with us.

Take time. Be patient. That's a lot of change in a very short time.

Be gentle with yourself... because the world is better with you in it.

27.02.2026 12:11 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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I WAS planning on getting things done today, but then this happened... and that was pretty much my day. πŸ₯°

#Vaticats

27.02.2026 02:18 β€” πŸ‘ 97    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 17    πŸ“Œ 0

With any other administration, I'd trust it to hand out exemptions on a case-by-case basis.

With an administration that has already proven that they're willing to bend policy for personal gain... ($220m for a media campaign, $10b here and there) I don't trust it at all.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 17    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Now, just because it will be difficult to do, I still think it has to be done.

What I'm concerned about is that as these realities sink in, and big data looks at a DECADE of build-out, they'll start asking for exemptions from the policy.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

That's 216,000 gallons a day or 78,840,000 gallons a year.

There are developments that are making cooling more efficient (ex. Alcohol vapor cooling) but they all still exchange heat in an evaporator, so that water loss is accurate no matter how efficient they get.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

A second problem is water.

The rule of thumb is that you lose 1.8 gallons of water for every ton/hour of cooling and every 100MW of power draw uses 250tons of cooling per hour.

For a 2000MW data center, that's 5000 ton/hours of cooling or 9,000 gallons of water lost to evaporation every hour.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

In the meantime, they're going to want to tie-in to the existing grid.

Even if they pay for their own power most utilities do not have the capacity to support 2-3 200MW data centers w/o greatly improving their grids and power generation

... which again, will take years.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
How a Combined-Cycle, Natural-Gas Power Plant Works | DTE Energy
YouTube video by DTEEnergyCompany How a Combined-Cycle, Natural-Gas Power Plant Works | DTE Energy

That's just not feasible.

If you want a self-sufficient AI data center, you'll need 7-8 large gas turbines that generate > 300MW each.

That means almost a decade before they are capable of generating their own power.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKSa...

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

You might be thinking, "but what about those shipping-container-sized micro gas turbine generators that they currently use in data centers?"

Good thought, but those generate between 30-500 kW while new AI data centers consume 2000 MW.

... You'd need 4000 of the largest MGTs running full-time.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Gas turbine manufacturers expand capacity, but order backlog could prove stubborn One expert said the industry moves are unlikelyΒ to β€œdrastically reduce” wait times, which can stretch as long as seven years. β€œMore skilled and engineering labor will be needed,” he said.

The problem is that there's currently a 5-7 year wait for large gas turbines. That wait will increase with an explosion of demand... and that's just to get the TURBINES - It doesn't include integrating them into a plant.

www.utilitydive.com/news/mitsubi...

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

There are a few problems w/actually implementing this plan.

First, it will take a MINIMUM of 8-10 years for any buildout of significant power infrastructure.

Coal is too expensive, Nuclear could take 2 decades, & Trump has put a screeching halt to renewables, so it's going to be gas-fired power.

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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The White House wants AI companies to cover rate hikes. Most have already said they would. | TechCrunch Many hyperscalers have already made public commitments to cover electricity cost increases.

I agree w/Trump's call to make big data pay for their own power. In Clark County, Nevada - where I care for my parents when I'm back in the US - NV Power makes US pay for the utility upgrades and spreads THEIR costs over OUR bills.

So this is a good thing

... kinda.

techcrunch.com/2026/02/25/t...

26.02.2026 15:02 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2

That's because I can stop any time I want.

26.02.2026 10:43 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

More than ten trillion people watched this episode! You won't believe what they saw near the end!😳

(Am I doing a click bait? That's how you do a clickbait, right?) πŸ˜‚

...

But seriously, it was a fun panel! πŸ˜‡

26.02.2026 02:10 β€” πŸ‘ 38    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump's SOTU, aside from the insults & outright gaslighting, pushed one major message:

'The "affordability" crisis is a Dem hoax!"

...

The last time he was this upset was when he called COVID a "Dem hoax"

25.02.2026 17:46 β€” πŸ‘ 41    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
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Why didn't it come out before?

Probably because all of this was being used as blackmail.

25.02.2026 13:11 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
16 Hours of Instagram in 1 Day: Is This Addiction? #shorts
YouTube video by TWiT Tech Podcast Network 16 Hours of Instagram in 1 Day: Is This Addiction? #shorts

Oh ... I really DO look better with a scarf! (Thanks Mom!) πŸ˜‚

Also... Yeah, if you're spending 16 hours a day on social media, you've got a problem.

youtube.com/shorts/Pe7tF...

25.02.2026 02:13 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
Video shows Patel condemning unnecessary private jet usage (he took a PJ to party with Olympians)
YouTube video by Brian Tyler Cohen Video shows Patel condemning unnecessary private jet usage (he took a PJ to party with Olympians)

Corruption breeds corruption.

youtube.com/shorts/szxTB...

24.02.2026 02:27 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0