Posts Tagged ‘Amarillo’

When The AI Bubble Bursts, What Happens To The Secondary Bubbles?

Tuesday, October 28th, 2025

Having been out of work for a while, people ask me if I’ve been displaced by AI. My reply is “Not directly.” Indirectly, I think the factor is that just about all venture capital funds are throwing money at AI-related companies, meaning non-AI startups that might need technical writers aren’t being funded.

Having lived through the dotcom bust, I have to wonder how bad the fallout from the AI bubble bursting is going to be. The dotcom bubble wasn’t all beenz and pets.com…

…and it fueled a whole lot of subsidiary bubbles: PC and server manufacturers to run the software, Microsoft to run the PCs, semiconductor manufacturers to provide chips for the PCs and servers, semiconductor equipment manufacturers to build those same chips, network gear providers to connect the data centers, etc. And that only scratches the surface. Cisco, Dell, Compaq, Netscape, Yahoo, AOL, Oracle, Sun, HP, Intel, AMD, Applied Materials (where I worked 1997-2001), LAM Research, KLA-Tencor, all had huge growth spurts during the dotcom era as their customers spent big money to get “on the web.” Even dinosaurs like IBM, Motorola and DEC enjoyed business boosts from the era. All suffered in the wake of the dotcom bust, some being bought up or disappearing into other companies.

The same is true of today’s multi-trillion dollar AI boom. Companies like OpenAI may get the most ink, but a whole lot of other companies are getting boosted as well. Some of the names are even the same as the dotcom bubble: Microsoft, Oracle, AMD. Applied Material stock has gone through the roof now that I don’t own any. Cisco is just getting back to the level of their record stock highs during the dotcom era.

Data centers are supposedly planned or going up all around the country, and so many are buying Nvidia’s AI chips that they now boast a breathtaking $4.88 trillion market cap.

Someone is supposedly going to build a $165 billion data center in New Mexico near El Paso. That number is kind of insane, as you could build 5-10 cutting edge fabs for that kind of money. I don’t see how you get any sort of ROI on such a big upfront investment.

Nuclear power is also seems to be enjoying a long-overdue renaissance due to AI, as a lot of companies think it’s just the thing to power those AI data centers. Google plans to restart an Iowa nuclear plant. Fermi America just announced “plans to build a ‘first-of-its-kind behind-the-meter HyperGrid campus‘ back in July, and now it has signed deals to begin the engineering of four nuclear reactors” in Amarillo. (Former Texas Governor and Energy Secretary Rick Perry is also involved.) And the Trump Administration just announced a contract to support Westinghouse’s nuclear power initiatives, though the “aggregate investment value of at least $80 billion” is not the same as some of the “Trump is subsidizing nuclear power with $80 billion” headlines.

When the AI bubble busts (not if, when), a whole lot of these projects will likely come a cropper. A lot of people will have made a lot of money, AI will probably revolutionize a few industries and prove mostly hype in others, and retail investors and bondholders will be left holding the bag. Like the doctom bust, a lot of new companies will rise from the wreckage and start the cycle all over again.

And companies that can best take advantage of idle data centers and newly abundant nuclear power (assuming the boom even lasts that long) will be the ones poised to help build the next tech boom…

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Posted in Economics, Texas | 8 Comments »

LinkSwarm for August 25, 2023

Friday, August 25th, 2023

More DOJ wrangling over Hunter Biden’s trial, bodies from Maui’s woke catastrophe continues to pile up, Texas sues Planned Parenthood over Medicaid fraud, Andy Ngo wins damages, and Dicks shrinks. It’s the Friday LinkSwarm!



  • “‘Quid-Pro F-You Dad’: Hunter’s Lawyers Threatened To Force Joe To Testify Unless Plea Deal Reached.”

    Hunter Biden’s lawyers played heavy with the Department of Justice, effectively threatening to force President Joe Biden to testify in any criminal trial against the First Son if a plea agreement wasn’t reached over his multiple alleged crimes.

    “President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,” wrote Hunter Biden attorney Chris Clark in a 32-page letter last fall, Politico reports, calling the news that there was enough evidence to charge Hunter an “illegal” leak.

    That letter, along with more than 300 pages of previously unreported emails and documents exchanged between Hunter Biden’s legal team and prosecutors, sheds new light on the fraught negotiations that nearly produced a broad plea deal. That deal would have resolved Biden’s most pressing legal issues — the gun purchase and his failure to pay taxes for several years — and it also could have helped insulate Biden from future prosecution by a Republican-led Justice Department.

    The documents show how the deal collapsed — a sudden turnabout that occurred after Republicans bashed it and a judge raised questions about it. The collapse renewed the prospect that Biden will head to trial as his father ramps up his 2024 reelection bid.

  • “Maui Wildfires Can Be Classified as First Woke-Caused Disaster.”

    The number of people unaccounted for has stubbornly remained at about 1,000, suggesting that the death toll will almost undoubtedly increase.

    As the staggering toll continues to be tallied, it is becoming apparent that the Maui wildfires may reasonably be classified as the first “woke-caused” disaster.

    To begin with, the rush to eliminate carbon emissions may have killed the implementation of effective fire prevention policies.

    Legal Insurrection readers recall my recent reports that downed power lines were being blamed as the initiating case of the fire. At the end of 2019, Hawaiian Electric issued a press release about wildfire risks assessed after hurricane-based winds contributed to a 2018 blaze.

    The Wall Street Journal notes that Hawaiian Electric was well aware of the potential for this situation, but diverted resources away from fire safety support in order to meet state-required green energy mandates.

    In 2015, lawmakers passed legislation mandating that the state derive 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045, the first such requirement in the U.S.

    The company dove into reaching the goals, stating in 2017 that it would reach the benchmark five years ahead of schedule.

    In 2019, under pressure to replace the output of two conventional power plants set to retire, the company sought to contract for 900 megawatts of renewable energy, the most it had pursued at any one time.

    “You have to look at the scope and scale of the transformation within [Hawaiian Electric] that was occurring throughout the system,” said Mina Morita, who chaired the state utilities commission from 2011 to 2015. “While there was concern for wildfire risk, politically the focus was on electricity generation.”

    When you have limited capital, choices have to be made. However, Hawaiian Electric may have made different choices if woke legislators adhering to climate change theology didn’t mandate the drive to renewables.

    Equity considerations are apparently another contributing factor in this disaster. A state water official delayed the release of water that landowners wanted to help protect their property from fires, because water is to be revered and not used.

  • Biden’s Justice Department sues Elon Musk’s Space X for not hiring illegal aliens. (Hat tip: Stephen Green at Instapundit.)
  • “Charlotte Pride now says no one will be awarded the 2023 Harvey Milk award for exceptional “LGBT+” advocacy after the announced winner’s past as a convicted child sex offender came to light.” What are the odds? (Hat tip: Instapundit.)
  • “San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese Files for Bankruptcy amid Hundreds of Outstanding Sexual-Assault Lawsuits.” Huh, if only there were some reason the San Francisco Archdiocese might have more pedophiles than other archdioceses…
  • “Planned Parenthood Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit Could Cost Organization $1.8 Billion.”

    The Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood that, depending on the ruling, could reportedly have “devastating consequences” for the abortion-providing organization.

    The case, which was heard on August 15 by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, could determine whether Planned Parenthood will have to pay back upwards of $1.8 billion to the state/federal government.

    If Kacsmaryk rules in favor of the OAG, the large sum that would need to be paid out is, according to Vox, “more than enough to bankrupt Planned Parenthood Federation of America.”

    The Texas OAG filed the lawsuit in 2022 on behalf of Alex Doe, an anonymous realtor, who is alleging that despite the organization being removed from Texas Medicaid it has continued to receive payments from the program.

  • Amarillo City Council: Hey voters, want to pass this bond to help us rebuild a civic center? Voters: Nah. Amarillo City Council: Well, we’re just going to do it anyway. Judge: REJECTED! AGAIN!.
  • Another Babylon Bee prophecy fulfilled: “New York Times publishes op-ed titled ‘Elections Are Bad for Democracy.'”
  • Three of Andy Ngo’s attackers must pay him $100,000 each. “Defendants Corbyn “Katherine” Belyea, Madison “Denny” Lee Allen, and Sammich Overkill Schott-Deputy were found liable by Judge Sinaplasai for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
  • “Texas State Library to Cut Ties with Controversial American Library Association.” Good.
  • Dicks suffers shrinkage.
  • Real life horror story with a happy ending.
  • Bad: Stealing a package off a porch. Worse: Stealing a porch.
  • Now you can own Bruce Lee’s nunchucks. Assuming you have a spare $30,000 lying around…
  • Yo, dawg, we heard you liked France, so we put a miniature France in your France.
  • “Hilary Makes Landfall, Destroying Over 30,000 Emails.”
  • “CDC Announces Deadly New ‘Electionyearicron’ Covid Variant.”
  • Bachelor party turns into dog rescue party.

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    Posted in Border Control, Crime, Democrats, ObamaCare, Republicans, Social Justice Warriors, Texas, video, Waste and Fraud | 1 Comment »

    Texas and Florida Added More Than Half The Nation’s New Jobs In November

    Saturday, December 18th, 2021

    You may have heard that the America added an anemic 210,000 jobs in November, which was (as has become standard in the Biden era) much less than “experts” predicted.

    The news wasn’t great, but Texas did well:

    Employment in Texas has reached nearly 13 million non-agricultural jobs, eclipsing the pre-pandemic high set in February of 2020.

    From October, the unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percent with the addition of 75,100 jobs. Since November of last year, 698,700 jobs have been added to the rolls.

    “By reaching nearly 13 million jobs last month, Texas has surpassed our pre-pandemic employment levels — a remarkable achievement and testament to our welcoming business climate and strong workforce,” Governor Greg Abbott said in a release.

    According to the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), Amarillo continues to post the lowest unemployment rate in the state at 3.1 percent. Austin-Round Rock follows closely behind at 3.2 percent.

    Also crowing about adding jobs: Florida governor Ron DeSantis, whose state added 50,000 jobs:

    75,100 + 50,000 = 125,100. So just shy 60% of jobs added in November came from two states known for low taxes, light regulation and general economic freedom.

    (If you dig further into the statistics, the lesson is a bit less clear cut, with California (45,700), New Jersey (25,800) and New York (23,600) ranking 3-5 for most jobs added.)

    According to census data, Texas and California have a combined population of 50,683,692, while the U.S. has a census-estimated population of 328,239,523. (Both those numbers have undoubtedly gone up a bit since census data was released in July.) Which means that two states with less than 1/6th the total population of the U.S. accounted for more than 60% of job growth.

    Why, it’s almost as if red states run by Republican governors are better at creating jobs than blue states run by Democratic governors…

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    Posted in Austin, Economics, Texas | 2 Comments »

    LinkSwarm for September 20, 2013

    Friday, September 20th, 2013

    Here’s a Friday LinkSwarm. I have a big piece brewing on the ObamCare battle I may or may not have out on Monday.

  • Poland seizes half of private retirement funds.
  • Republicans in the House actually manage to cut something.
  • On the other hand, if you’re a Republican congressman, and you make $172,000 a year, you don’t get to complain about it. That means you, Rep. Phil Gingrey.
  • Ted Cruz says the ObamaCare fight is just beginning.
  • Speaking of Cruz, nothing says class quite like the Communications Director of the Sacramento Democratic Party wishing for the children of a Ted Cruz staffer to die of a horrible disease. If a Republic staffer said that about Obama’s children he’d be gone faster than Domino’s could get there. (Bonus: An extra evidence to Allan Brauer’s extreme classiness, he also refers to a woman as “cumrag.”) Sacramento Democrats have taken down Brauer’s page, but you can still find it on the Wayback Machine.)
  • “Like your health care plan? Then you can keep it” suck it up and get shoved into an ObamaCare exchange by your employer.
  • The IRS scandal just keeps getting worse.
  • Congressional Budget offices says that the deficit is going to get much, much worse.
  • Biggest story you’re not hearing much about? German elections this weekend. If Angela Merkel’s party should lose, and be replaced with a party less enthused with endless PIIGS bailouts, well, things could get interesting.
  • Obama official refuses to release information pertaining to a a Freedom of Information Act request. Stonewalling the press and withholding evidence? Obviously he must be bucking for a promotion.
  • Obama Express busted for paying cash for food stamps.
  • FEMA grounds UAVs, preventing them from providing mapping of Colorado flood victims for free.
  • Mainly read this Ann Althouse piece on “lean-in” circles for the catty comments.

  • Amarillo restaurant closes, evidently pens insulting message to patrons?
  • Remember China’s “Ghost Cities”? They’re bigger, and emptier, than ever:

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    Posted in Democrats, Media Watch, ObamaCare, Republicans | No Comments »