WELCOME
TO THE EVENING SHADE
A SANCTUARY OF SANITY AFTER A LONG HARD DAY OF FIGHTING FASCISM
YOU WILL FIND in the DIARIES a LOT of POLITICS
(Or NOT As the CASE MAY BE)
AND EVEN MORE CRITTERS
THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS
EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER
RULES IN THE DIARY
WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING in the DIARY that you LIKE
YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY
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PostingADiary
CritterHerding
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This one is slightly off topic, but it’s from Stateline, so I’m letting it in. It’s aimed at Momma O, but many others (including me) may find it of use.
AI vs. AI: Patients deploy bots to battle health insurers that deny care
As states strive to curb health insurers’ use of artificial intelligence, patients and doctors are arming themselves with AI tools to fight claims denials, prior authorizations and soaring medical bills.
Several businesses and nonprofits have launched AI-powered tools to help patients get their insurance claims paid and navigate byzantine medical bills, creating a robotic tug-of-war over who gets care and who foots the bill for it.
Sheer Health, a three-year-old company that helps patients and providers navigate health insurance and billing, now has an app that allows consumers to connect their health insurance account, upload medical bills and claims, and ask questions about deductibles, copays and covered benefits.
“You would think there would be some sort of technology that could explain in real English why I’m getting a bill for $1,500,” said cofounder Jeff Witten. The program uses both AI and humans to provide the answers for free, he said. Patients who want extra support in challenging a denied claim or dealing with out-of-network reimbursements can pay Sheer Health to handle those for them. ✂️
I also find it ironic when AI is used to combat AI. In addition to the above story, there was a story that AI had found the massive fraud in the AI scam in minutes. Basically companies double counting funds and inventory to make themselves look more solvent than they actually are.
I love it when AI is used for good. It’s a good article that I recommend you all read.
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South Carolina Daily Gazette
A different kind of data center: DartPoints expanding in Greenville, Columbia to meet AI needs
Data center operator DartPoints plans to up the capacity of its Greenville center by 400%.
But unlike the super centers popping up around the Palmetto State, each gobbling upwards of 100 megawatts of power, DartPoints’ growth is on a much smaller scale — 12.5 megawatts, up from a 2.5-megawatt starting point.
The company pledged this month to invest $125 million in the expansion of its Greenville location, adding 88,000 square feet to the facility.
At the heart of the company’s expansion: artificial intelligence.
DartPoints’ customers are now demanding three times the capacity and computing power compared to just a year or so ago, CEO Scott Willis told the SC Daily Gazette.
“AI potentially has the opportunity to change their business in a very dramatic way. We’ve got to come along with that,” he said.
Companies are turning to AI bots to run customer care chats. Robots in manufacturing are becoming more autonomous. And from a health care perspective, hospital systems are offering more computer-heavy remote services, with wearable devices that track vitals like heart rate and blood sugar, Willis said.
So expanding is essential, he said, if DartPoints wants its centers to remain relevant over the next five years.
“It is no longer a ‘nice to have.’ It’s a requirement, on our part, to understand that change, anticipate that change,” Willis said. ✂️
But consumer groups and politicians have pushed back against the proliferation of data centers over the past couple years. Most of that ire is aimed at so-called hyperscale centers, owned and operated by tech giants such as Google and Meta.
These windowless centers, which house rows of servers, are among the largest drivers of growing power needs in the state, generating vast demand for electricity on top of the needs of an ever-growing manufacturing and population base.
Willis is quick to point out not all data centers are the same.
For starters, he said, utilities already have the kind of capacity on their system that DartPoints requires.
“We are a non-invasive partner inside the state,” Willis said. “We don’t disrupt the demand of the grid. We’re not asking Duke (Energy) or other utilities to invest a significant amount of money that could result in price increases for the overall citizens of the state of South Carolina.” ✂️
I don’t agree with the premise that the CEO is putting out, but it’s his job and he has to believe it himself in order to be effective. I do like the idea of smaller, more distributed data centers, though. I think they’d be more environmentally and socially friendly.
I think most of us agree that the AI bubble is going to burst soon and a lot of local economies are going to be hit with large scale unemployment and environmental issues when large data centers get closed. I don’t even hate AI! I think it’s a promising step forward. Crypto currency and NFTs on the other hand, are a terrible use of resources.
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From this morning’s Gems of Bluesky
All of the rest of the Flutters come via the incredible Denise Oliver Velez in her early comments in the APR. Thanks, Denise!
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CT Mirror
CT strengthens data protections in wake of federal requests
Concerned that residents’ locations and schedules could be obtained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, state lawmakers passed a bill this month to prevent public agencies from sharing such personal information.
The bill prohibits state and municipal agencies, including schools, from sharing an individual’s address, hours of work, public agency appointments or “any other information that provides the date, time or place where such individual may be located.”
Scott Gaul, the state’s chief data officer, said he will be working with agencies on procedures that protect the outlined information and how to handle requests for data.
“The underlying intent of the legislation is to make sure people can trust in government and feel that they can interact with state agencies and the benefits that they’re entitled to,” said Gaul.
Since March, the Trump administration has required states to provide “unfettered access” to information like names, birth dates, addresses and Social Security numbers from all state programs that receive federal funding. Connecticut did not comply. ✂️
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South Dakota Searchlight
Retired federal security engineer worries workforce cuts will leave U.S. vulnerable
Concern: That’s what Daryl Zimmerman, president of the South Dakota Federation of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, has heard over the last year from federal workers.
Concern about federal duties not being carried out effectively, concern for colleagues’ wellbeing, concern about how the reduction in the federal workforce will affect the economy, and concern about jobs being cut at any moment.
About 154,000 federal employees took buyouts — officially described as deferred resignations — early this year, providing them with pay through the end of the fiscal year in exchange for leaving their position. The Trump administration made the offers as a way to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor said recently that he expects the total decrease in the federal workforce to reach more than 300,000 eventually.
During the recent federal government shutdown, an estimated 670,000 federal employees were furloughed, and another 730,000 were required to work without pay.
Excluding contractors and postal workers, there are 8,123 federal civilian employees living in South Dakota. When retirees are added, South Dakota’s “federal family” is just shy of 22,000, Zimmerman said. Just under 800 belong to his organization, which advocates for members, their pay and their benefits. ✂️
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This is a follow up to a piece I did a week or two about a meat packing plant in Nebraska that laid off about a quarter of the town’s population.
Nebraska Examiner
Agencies, groups reach out to Tyson workers as Lexington beef plant closure nears
LINCOLN — Nebraska state agencies are partnering with Lexington nonprofits and other groups to help connect Tyson Foods workers and their families with support as 3,200 people lose their jobs with the closure of the town’s longtime beef plant.
On Wednesday and Thursday, a state and local “rapid response layoff services” event is scheduled for Tyson workers at the Dawson County Fairgrounds, according to a statement Saturday from Gov. Jim Pillen’s office.
Representatives of the Nebraska Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Economic Development and Agriculture will offer information about available resources, including unemployment insurance benefits, job search help and economic support programs, the statement said.
Tyson is to convey timing for the event to workers.
“This holiday season will look different for these families, but we know that Nebraskans show up for each other,” Pillen said. “We are seeing that happen in Lexington.”
Tyson on Nov. 21 announced it is closing the longtime Lexington beef plant, eliminating jobs around Jan. 20. The company also is laying off about 1,700 workers at its plant in Amarillo, Texas.
Tyson’s announcement of the closures did not specifically address why it targeted the Lexington plant over other facilities. A recent earnings report indicated the processing giant stands to lose $600 million in its beef business next fiscal year, on top of the already-incurred $720 million loss over the last two years.
Pillen has said a factor was the age and efficiency of the plant, which originally was constructed around 1973 to manufacture combines and other farm machinery. It was converted and opened as a meatpacking facility in 1990. ✂️
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Pennsylvania Capital-Star
CMU seeks world’s ‘best and brightest’ but visa woes and anti-China rhetoric have some ‘freaked out’
Carnegie Mellon University annually attracts thousands of students from more than 150 nations with its highly ranked degree programs and abundant research opportunities. But this year, amid geopolitical tensions and tightening federal immigration policy, those numbers edged down.
Compared to last fall, there are currently 223 fewer students enrolled from China and 272 fewer students from India, for instance. That’s a dip of 7% and 15% respectively. A spokesperson for CMU acknowledged that international enrollment is “down in undergraduate and graduate programs,” but said that this decline is “smaller than that experienced by many other institutions.”
In 2020, U.S. universities experienced a steep drop in international enrollment as COVID-19 swept the globe, but numbers quickly rebounded. Now, international enrollment is facing new pressure from a changing U.S. immigration system.
Some U.S. policymakers are concerned about the perceived threat of international students, particularly Chinese students in STEM fields. And increasingly feverish language on the strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China — some of which has been heard on CMU’s campus this year — could also dent future international enrollment.
“I have international grad students who are scared and freaked out right now, and don’t feel welcome in this country,” said Carrie McDonough, a professor of chemistry at CMU. ✂️
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Maryland Matters
Penny for your thoughts? Not anymore. How the lowly penny’s retirement impacts Marylanders
WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, the last-ever penny was minted in Philadelphia. Here’s what this means for Maryland consumers, businesses and collectors.
The Nov. 12 end to production of the penny had been in motion since February, when President Donald Trump announced he had met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to discuss the cancellation.
“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This is so wasteful!”
Rising costs in the production of one-cent coins played a large role in the decision, the U.S. Mint said. Over the past 10 years, the cost to produce a penny has risen from 1.42 cents to 3.69 cents per coin.
“Economic and production factors, combined with evolving consumer behavior, have made its continued production unsustainable,” the U.S. Mint said in a statement.
Around half of consumers agree, according to a February survey from the National Association of Convenience Stores.
Although the idea has been circulating for decades, this marks the first time that the Treasury Department has made that final call in discontinuing the one-cent coin.
The end of penny production is expected to save the Mint around $56 million a year. ✂️
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Utah News Dispatch
Ahead of Olympics, Salt Lake City shares environmental wins to mitigate air pollution and emissions
While the federal government steps away from climate agreements, Salt Lake City is reiterating its commitment to become more sustainable ahead of the 2034 Olympic Games with a 2040 deadline to achieve goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.
In an update presented to the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday, the city’s Sustainability Department highlighted milestones, including a major one — the city’s greenhouse gas emissions fell 11% from 2009 to 2024, said Catherine Wyffels, air quality and environmental program manager at the department.
“This is primarily due to a shift to cleaner energy sources,” Wyffels said in a presentation. “So while this 11% may not seem like much, it’s important to remember that it happened during a period of a lot of growth.”
Per capita emissions also declined 25% in the same period, she said. But there’s still a long way to go to meet the city’s climate goals.
After conducting surveys across the city with a special focus on the west side, which disproportionately experiences the effects of pollution, the city found that Salt Lakers’ top environmental concerns are drought and air quality.
“People are interested in anything they can do in their homes to save under utility bills,” she said. “A lot of support for clean renewable energy for both homes and businesses. People like street trees in their neighborhoods, and then also a lot of support for increased access to transit, walking and biking infrastructure.” ✂️
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Michigan Advance
‘This piggy won’t be quiet’: They spent two nights on a bus to protest the president
When the olive green charter bus pulled into the suburban civic center in a conservative area east of Cincinnati just after 9 p.m. on Friday, the women were ready.
They loaded duffels and coolers and bags of snacks into the bus. They carried handmade “Impeach, Convict, Remove” signs, transgender pride flags, and the red hooded cloaks and white bonnets made famous by “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the dystopian feminist novel adapted into a popular Hulu series.
Cincinnati was the first of three stops in a “turn and burn” trip from Ohio to the nation’s capital for a “Remove the Regime” protest — and it didn’t follow the most logical route. Stops in suburbs outside Columbus and Cleveland added hours to the drive. The women didn’t seem to care. ✂️
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Iowa Capital Dispatch
Retired Iowa State University professor repairs violins to pay forward goodwill
Paul Lasley’s hobby of restoring old and broken violins and donating them to Iowa State University’s instrument collection program didn’t start with a violin of his own, or really any other stringed instrument — it started with a tin clarinet.
When the retired ISU sociology professor was growing up in Queen City, Mo., he wanted to join his elementary school band. Lasley said his family couldn’t afford a new, black-painted wood clarinet, so he had to borrow an older, metal instrument from the school.
Now he’s working to make sure students who hope to find belonging and opportunity through music like he did have better equipment than was available to him, through finding and fixing fiddles and giving them to an instrument drive run by Iowa State Center’s Stephens Auditorium staff.
“We’re enculturating the value of helping others, and that’s what we really should be about …,” Lasley said. “I was loaned a tin clarinet, and while I really would like to have had a better instrument, I had the opportunity.” ✂️
I had to include this one. It’s such an upbeat story and I love musical instruments, both for playing and for working on.
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The Left Wing Echo Chamber
The Jukebox is here. Ghost is the host with the most, from coast to coast. The theme is… Now Playing.
This Week in the War on Women will be here or here (the first queries by publishing group, the second by tag). If one doesn’t show you the new diary, try the other.
Bilbo’s latest is here:
CHC Roundup: Rep Lori Trahan (MA-03) - "The Fight is Far From Over"
If anyone has a diary of theirs that they’d like promoted, please drop a comment (preferably with a link) in the previous night’s Shade. Hopefully the next Shade will include a promotional link for you.
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Today is…
Since I’m bound to lift something from WineRev, in this season of giving thanks, Thank you! Here’s a link to his G&G comment this morning
Birthdays
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799-1888) - Educator who pioneered interacting with young students to avoid traditional punishment.
Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) - Author who wrote Little Women.
Here’s WineRev:
1832 Germantown, PA Birth of Louisa May Alcott, activist and author. Had some poetry published in the 1850s. Worked for a time as a nurse in a Civil War hospital treating the Union wounded and wrote it up in a slim volume, “Hospital Notes” that had a strong, positive effect on recruiting new nurses. Under the pen name A.M. Barnard she wrote stories of violence and revenge that included "Pauline’s Passion and Punishment." Writing later under her own name she drew on memories of growing up with four sisters to rise to fame with "Little Women," "It takes people a long time to learn the difference between talent and genius, especially ambitious young men and women."
Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977) - First woman to serve as Governor for a state (Wyoming).
C.S. Lewis (1898 — 1963)
Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29, 1898. From a young age, he immersed himself in Greek and Irish mythology. He loved animal stories and even wrote a few of his own. He loved nature, songs, and legends of the literature of the Scandinavian cultures. As a teenager, he wrote epic poems and operas. In 1916, he received a scholarship at University College, Oxford. He held English literature positions here and at Cambridge University. We will uncover the most fascinating story he was involved in — his life. Join us and celebrate his birthday here!
WineRev also has a bit in his G&G about C.S. Lewis:
1898 Belfast, Ireland Birth of Clive Staples Lewis, author, amateur theologian. As a child very taken with Beatrix Potter and anthropomorphic animals. His education was a mix of private tutors and boarding schools. Wounded in World War I, went over to atheism as he studied Classics and literature at Oxford and Cambridge. In his early 30s his study of Chesterton and friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien brought him back to Christianity. Took up defending the Faith (as C.S. Lewis) against modern materialism (“Mere Christianity”, “Miracles”, “The Problem of Pain,” “The Four Loves,” “The Abolition of Man” (warning against materialistic totalitarianism, which he addressed in the “Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet/Perelandra/That Hideous Strength”.) Also noted for a series of children’s books “The Chronicles of Narnia” that he wrote for his god-daughter. "Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. ... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."
In his own way a very influential evangelist of a kind, and a personal hero for me; figured in me ending up going to seminary and into ordained ministry…..as well as working in a wine shop…..and assembling History Corners….
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Events
1877 - Thomas Edison demonstrates his hand-cranked phonograph.
1929 - Richard E. Byrd leads the first expedition to fly over the South Pole.
1933 - Pennsylvania becomes the first state to approve liquor stores.
1942 - Coffee rations are implemented to allow 10 pounds a year.
I haven’t drank coffee in probably 30 years. There was something of a price hike in the mid to late 70’s that I recall, being a non coffee drinker. My mom told me that when she was younger, they’d mix coffee grounds with roasted barley grounds. I’m curious if that’s unique to me or if others had heard other, similar, stories.
1944 - The first open heart surgery is performed at John Hopkins.
WineRev:
1944 Baltimore, MD At Johns Hopkins Medical Center surgeon Alfred Blalock and his leading (black) assistant, Vivien Thomas, performed the 1st open heart surgery. It was to repair the mis-arrangement of heart vessels in a newborn “blue baby” (tetralogy of Fallot), making it even more difficult due to the size of the vessels. The operation was a success. (Eleven years ago I had my own open-heart surgery, a direct descendant of this surgery. Happy to report it was a success too…...whew.)
1963 - President Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to begin an investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy.
1975 - President Ford signs the Education for All Handicapped Children Act.
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International Day of Solidarity With the Palestinian People
International Day of Solidarity With the Palestinian People is observed on November 29 to raise awareness of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the horrors still occurring. The United Nations started this day to inform people about this issue and to stand with Palestinians during this difficult time with the hope that one day this conflict can be put to an end and reach a peaceful resolution.
International Jaguar Day
Encompassing eighteen countries, ranging from Mexico all the way to Argentina, jaguars are the only big cat that resides in Latin America, and they are also the largest carnivores in the area. These fascinating hunting cats have the strongest jaws of all of the feline species, and their presence is part of the larger landscape of biodiversity throughout their natural habitat.
ELECTRONIC GREETINGS DAY
The convenience and speed of sending an electronic greeting allow more people than ever to participate in this thoughtful process. We all enjoy it when someone remembers our birthdays, anniversaries, and other important life events. While greeting cards continue to be used, electronic greetings are far more cost-effective and mean equally as much.
Small Business Saturday
Small businesses often are overlooked by customers who are enticed by larger companies, and this can adversely affect the local economy in more negative ways than might appear on the surface level.
The rise of shopping malls and large chain stores such as Walmart and other retailers has caused irreversible damage to Main Street in the last half-century or so, and it’s paramount to remember the importance of supporting local small businesses.
After all, why should we not celebrate the spirit of enterprise and entrepreneurship, as exemplified by small business owners who take the risk of following their dreams?
After all, it’s a common thing for politicians to talk about supporting Main Street over big business, and how small business owners often face greater hardships than larger companies. Since Small Business Saturday is held on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day, it falls right during the peak shopping periods of the year.
Tomorrow Is…
NATIONAL MASON JAR DAY and NATIONAL MOUSSE DAY
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The Shade is open. As always, the value is in the comments.
