Imagine building this without concrete. | Getty Images "Those who talk should do and only those who do should talk." - Nassim Nicholas TalebData center owners have a concrete problem.Most of them just do not see it yet.Conc…
What a load of GOB | Credit Cardinal News"The economy is a derivative of energy."- Doomberg I am part of the 7x24 Central Virginia Exchange Education Committee. It's a committee that is part of 7x24, a networking group for…
“The real price of every thing, what every thing really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it.”– Adam SmithIf you’re in the construction industry, you’re buying cement…
"Wind extinguishes a candle and energizes fire. Likewise with randomness, uncertainty, chaos: you want to use them, not hide from them."- Nassim Nicholas Taleb If you live in the U.S., Australia looks like the place that should have t…
“We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.”— Roy AmaraLast week I saw a post making the rounds about an Anthropic study. The takeaway was familiar. Archi…
"One resists the invasion of armies; one does not resist the invasion of ideas." – Victor Hugo The Iran war isn’t just another geopolitical headline.It’s an energy reset.And if you’re in concrete, you&…
“Whether one is a conservative or a radical, a protectionist or a free trader, a cosmopolitan or a nationalist, a churchman or a heathen, it is useful to know the causes and consequences of economic phenomena.”— George J. Stigler…
“Good intentions tell you nothing about the actual consequences.” — Thomas Sowell Layoffs are recession behavior. Period.I do not care what economists call it. If demand slows and a company does not need as ma…
“𝗧𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.” — Robert Louis Stevenson I was watching a youth basketball game recently.One team couldn’t miss. Full-court press. Tr…
“Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.”- H. L. MenckenVirginia keeps pouring concrete for data centers like the pace is normal…
“Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws.”– King Canute Back in August we published a post called:…
“Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.” — Charles Mackay A guy wrote that in 1841. 1841.&nb…
Keep your eye on the prize. (Adobe)You’ve probably seen the dumb version of this story already.“Trump wants cheap oil.” “Exxon won’t touch Venezuela.” “Guyana hit the jackpot.” “Russia and Ch…
When the lights get expensive, everything else follows.For the last few years, Europe has been trying to run an industrial economy on wishful thinking.It looked fine in speeches. It looked even better in press releases.Then the bill showed up.…
Buckeyes for the win! (Adobe) Data centers are the new “economic development win” that shows up in a press release before anyone asks the obvious question.Where’s the power coming from?And who’s paying to build t…
Concrete didn’t become the default building material because it was fashionable. It won because it made sense. It was durable. It was local. And for a long time, it was the economical choice when you looked at the whole building—not just…
Making it look easy. Adobe For a long time, success in the concrete industry was simple.Know the spec.Hit strength.Keep the schedule moving.If something went wrong, you pointed to the drawings, the mix design, or the standard and moved …
Proven technology. Georgia Power.The Trump Media + TAE Fusion Power mergerstill reads like a deal someone dreamed up in the airport bar during a 3-hour delay.A social media company with meme-stock metabolism merges with a f…
What’s the productivity benchmark for a guitar-shaped building? (Miami Herald).This week’s post was inspired by a LinkedIn post from Eric Koehler. Hello Eric.Eric is a sharp, thoughtful guy and someone I respect. He was also a guest …
CO₂ capture. Because photosynthesis apparently doesn’t matter. (Adobe)I got another message this week. Same theme as a few others. “Anti-PLC.” “Only talking about it because it draws an audience.”…
Fire 'em back up. (Adobe) Every now and then something crosses my screen that stops me mid-scroll. This week it was an argument that coal fly ash might help break China’s chokehold on rare earth elements. It is not a bad though…
Grit. (Bakerconstruction.com)If you ever sit down with Dan Baker long enough, you realize the man doesn’t talk in clichés. He talks in lived experience. Everything he says comes from some job where his …
Follow the Line. Follow the Money.If you’ve been following the Type IL situation the last few years, you’ve heard every excuse under the sun about why Portland limestone cement suddenly became the “future” of American concr…
Pipe dream. (Adobe)Every once in a while, the cement industry drops a headline so painfully obvious you wonder if anyone has been awake for the last decade. This week’s gem? Europe is sounding the alarm that cement prices cou…