Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan

@cycbill.bsky.social

NE Ohio / Old grassroots digital equity hand / Data has its uses / Don't mourn, organize!

320 followers115 following683 posts

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Prices at the Conneaut, OH I-90 Shell station this morning, not quite a month after the General Assembly suspended the state's gas tax. Vivek and GOP legislators claimed to be lowering pump prices. But AAA says the average OH regular gas price a month ago was just $4.36. What's up, Vivek?

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Politicians of both parties have been using "They must bring their own power!" as a "tough" permission point for new multi-mega-datacenter projects ever since the rebellion caught them flatfooted. Well surprise, this is what "bring your own" looks like -- especially in frack-happy Ohio.

David DeWitt@daviddewitt.bsky.social

Commentary: If approved, PowerConneX 3 will become the seventh gas plant to power a data center in the New Albany, Ohio, business park. Together these seven gas plants total 1936 MW – roughly equivalent to the electricity demand of over 1.3 million homes. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/10/22/e...

ohiocapitaljournal.comEnough is enough in Ohio on polluting data center gas power plants • Ohio Capital JournalIf approved, PowerConneX 3 will become the seventh gas plant to power a data center in the New Albany, Ohio, business park. Together these seven gas plants total 1936 MW – roughly equivalent to the…

Bill Callahan reposted

Bonnie
@babusha.bsky.social

By #Trump supporting and encouraging the #Putin tyranny, he is as much responsible for the murder of that mom and baby and injuries to 17 other kids as Putin is.

Tim White@twmcltd.bsky.social

Authorities in Kharkiv state two women and a baby in a stroller have been murdered in a Russian strike on a park used by families. Seven more children are among 14 injured survivors after the attack on Nova Vodolaha, south west of Kharkiv city.

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Cleveland's "Mister AI" Chris Quinn, boss of what was once the Plain Dealer (cleveland.com), gives us a straightforward explanation of his site's beloved-celebrity clickbait strategy, omitting only the word "clickbait". Garnished with the finest AI art, of course.

cleveland.comThe business case behind cleveland.com's celebrity coverageCleveland.com explains that celebrity stories fund local journalism, addresses reader frustration with repetitive headlines, and encourages use of newsletters to navigate content.
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

A little-discussed feature of the peaceful rural American life today is constant gunfire. Often automatic weapons fire. Listening to some right now. It's wild turkey season in Ohio so some of today's noise is probably hunters' shotguns. But you're not allowed to shoot at turkeys with an AR.

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

It's always something at the Trump FCC. Of course politely asking Brendan Carr to deny a campaign weapon to Club for Growth is, well, somewhat quixotic. But "Republicans have a plan to deluge your phone with AI slop calls" seems like something Dems should want voters to hear.

National Consumer Law Center@nclc4consumers.bsky.social

Tell the FCC to maintain the integrity of the U.S. telephone system – and the election process – and reject Club for Growth’s attempt to unleash unwanted, AI-voiced political robocalls. #EndRobocalls #ProtectConsumers #AI www.nclc.org/stop-efforts...

nclc.orgStop Efforts to Greenlight AI Robocalls Ahead of the MidtermsFCC Must Reject Effort to Flood Voters with AI-Powered Robocalls Ahead of the Midterms
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Club for Growth's recent "Energy Affordability Summit" in Columbus featured OH GOP Senator Jon Husted, currently trailing Democrat Sherrod Brown. Husted's economic policy staffer Mark Rusthoven last worked for CFG. Where do you suppose CFG wants to make all those AI robocalls?

Bill Callahan reposted

The Rooster
@rooster.info

I certainly have my criticisms of Sherrod Brown, the world’s most blood-sucking perverts hating him with a thousand suns is a great endorsement of his work.

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

"Separately, AEP Ohio says it has contracts for nearly 18,000 megawatts of data-center capacity — more than the utility’s historic peak demand from all customers."

cleveland.comOhio electricity prices rose 34%. What public records show about bills and data centersState and federal data show Ohio electricity prices and projected data-center demand are rising, but the records do not show that household bills rose 34% or how much of the increase was caused by dat...
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

"AT&T, which already shed more than half of its workforce over the past decade, says it's going to continue laying off staff as it gears up for the AI era." Couldn't Wired find at least one or two laid-off AT&T workers for their perspective on this? Or, I dunno, a @cwaunion.bsky.social rep?

wired.comAT&T Is Automating Away Jobs—and Its Old Telecom EmpireThe telecom giant is eager to show Wall Street that it can do more with less. That means fewer employees, less electricity, and increased automation.
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Thanks to Trump/Lutnick arm-twisting the states, SpaceX is sitting on ~$700 million in rural broadband $$$ from the Commerce Dept's BEAD program, probably with more to come. This is for customer premises equipment, not infrastructure, for homes that they claim (per FCC map) they can serve already.

lightreading.comSpaceX doubles down on push to abolish rural broadband subsidiesTaking aim at 'subsidy-dependent incumbents' that regard LEO's success 'as a threat,' SpaceX is once again pushing the FCC to end the High-Cost fund.
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Ah, but it's very important for all those new behind-the-meter gas power plants we need for our hyperscale AI factories.

David DeWitt@daviddewitt.bsky.social

Commentary: The hyperbole around the shale gas industry’s role in Ohio’s economy has always been excessive. Recently, as the industry has targeted Ohio’s public lands for fracking and sought subsidies and regulatory favors, the claims have become absurd. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/09/16/s...

ohiocapitaljournal.comShale gas' importance to Ohio's economy is small and shrinking • Ohio Capital JournalThe level of hyperbole in discussions of the shale gas industry’s role in Ohio’s economy has always been excessive. Recently, as the industry has targeted Ohio’s public lands for fracking and sought…
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

And once again, a reminder that BroadbandOhio, under duress from the Trump Commerce Dept, has handed almost half of the state's eligible locations for BEAD rural broadband subsidies to Starlink.

Sascha Meinrath@saschameinrath.bsky.social

Once again, more empirical evidence that Starlink cannot deliver *broadband* speeds to a huge proportion of its current customers: www.ookla.com/research/rep... -- further documentation that X-Lab's analysis of Starlink capacity limits is spot on: thexlab.org/wp-content/u...

ookla.com50 U.S. States Broadband Speed Performance | H1 2026 ReportSee how U.S. states compare on broadband performance, where the digital divide is narrowing, and how Starlink performance improved in 1H 2026.
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

In Sept 2025, under pressure from Lutnick's NTIA, Ohio submitted a BEAD plan proposing to award 34K out of 74K BEAD subsidy locations (46%) to Musk's satellite service. In December, NTIA approved a "final" Ohio plan adding 10K locations, including another 6K for StarLink (now at 48%). See a trend?

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Strangely this doesn't seem to be dawning on Ohio politicians yet, despite 48% of our BEAD locations being diverted to Musk (fourth highest % among all states), and $500 million of our $800 million BEAD award stuck in the Commerce Dept's "non-deployment" limbo. Hello @amyactonoh.bsky.social?

techdirt.comTexas Politicians Slowly Realize Elon Musk Hijacked Billions In Taxpayer Broadband GrantsBack in June I wrote a feature for The Verge about how Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos had convinced Republicans to redirect billions in taxpayer money away from future-proof fiber optic upgrades, and toward their low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband networks they'd already planned to deploy. Curious behavior for two extremely-rich gentlemen who both repeatedly...
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Dems who want to ride that anti-AI, anti-datacenter wave probably shouldn't be publishing helpful lists of "New Rules for Big Tech to Get Their Widely Hated Fossil-Fueled AI Surveillance and Slop Factories Approved by My Administration." /1

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Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Big mistake to assume anti-megadatacenter voters see this as a Policy issue. It's a "Which side are you on?" issue. How about just "The AI data center 'boom' in Ohio is a cancer not a boom, and I'll do everything I can to stop it from spreading." /2

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

According to the PUCO, Ohio had 15.1 GW of installed gas-fired generating capacity in Dec 2023, and 25.1 GW installed capacity of all kinds. So the chart shows a 100% increase in OH's gas-fired generating capacity and a 60% increase overall. Emissions ⬆️, gas bills ⬆️ -- all for more AI factories.

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

"Our own State Department says, 'Do not travel to Haiti for any reason.' ...the travel advisory instructs you to prepare a will, establish a proof of life protocol with your loved ones, and choose a family member to serve as a point of contact with kidnappers."

David DeWitt@daviddewitt.bsky.social

ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/08/19/o...

ohiocapitaljournal.comOpen letter to Ohio US Sen. Bernie Moreno: Haitian parents love their children too • Ohio Capital JournalDear Ohio U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, we can all agree everyone deserves to live in a safe home and community. Any parent would do anything to keep their children safe. All Haitian-Ohioans are asking is ...
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Not exactly new news, but OpenAI and Nvidia are now publicly involved in USDoE's planned ten Gw AI campus in Piketon with its 9.2 Gw gas-burning power plant. AI datacenter power "solutions" like this are setting Ohioans up for huge spikes in natural gas use, CO2 emissions, and heating bills.

heatmap.newsThe New Era of the Mega-Gas PlantOpenAI’s new Ohio data center will rely on the country’s largest fossil-fueled power plant — which will be built on federal land.
Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Note @amyactonoh.bsky.social the concern here is home *gas* bills, not electric bills. If you double OH's previously flat gas demand to feed AI power plants -- on or off grid, doesn't matter -- the cost of gas will soar for everyone except those with locked-in contracts (like the power plants).

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

Agree completely with Doug about this. Public wi-fi isn't usually a great solution for home Internet, though communities have made it work. But it fills a critical need for mobile phone and laptop users who can't afford real data plans.

potsandpansbyccg.comThe Need for Public WiFiOne of the most interesting positive things that came out of the COVID pandemic was that communities and organizations across the country deployed public WiFi hotspots. This was done at the time to…

Bill Callahan reposted

Bonnie
@babusha.bsky.social

I do believe my Humana Healthcare insurance is scamming me to use the Humana Mail-order pharmacy. Notice this doesn't name the pharmacy that will be notified. It comes on the tail of my approving a refill at my CVS. Sneaky Humana. Don't like mail-order drugs; shipping $ & time delay.

Bill Callahan
@cycbill.bsky.social

If you think access to high-speed fiber broadband is the norm for city residents and it's just rural consumers who are getting left behind, think again... at least in Ohio.

connectyourcommunity.orgData drop: Majority of housing units in ten biggest Ohio central cities can’t get fiber InternetCity residents have the best broadband, right?  Everybody knows it's just rural residents who are getting left behind, as Internet providers roll out their state-of-the-art fiber optic networks to com...