100-word Stories

Drabble a story of exactly 100 words. Just because the form is short doesn't mean you can skimp on the basics of a good story. A story with a beginning, middle, and end, and include conflict and resolution. A story built around a prompt, random thought, or blurb collected in my notes. Everyone should write a drabble a week.

Waste Heat

It’s just elemental thermodynamics. Spent electricity generates heat. Servers use electricity. One server generates heat. Multiply that by a data center with 100,00 servers — 24/7, 365 days a year — well, lots of heat. Phoenix has or under construction 178 centers. No one seems to wonder where that heat goes, called “waste heat.” No one seems to wonder what the impact is? They should. It does. Residual neighborhoods Urban microclimates Human health Framers and ranchers Water

Surveillance Pricing

You cannot hide. It can see you, some far-away data center. Watching you walk the aisles today, looking for that perfect pillow. King size, regular, firm, contoured, comfort. You study the options. Are you aware that the prices no longer update by an employee, but by a server. Serving the corporation. The goal maximize profits. They tracked you. AI, it knows you. Your likes, dislikes, your finances, and buying habits. And before you enter the aisle, has already calculated you

Interesting.

A word with no consequential meaning. Used to describe a past, present or future event. It rolls off the lips with a collaborator. “An interesting perspective” “An interesting observation” “It will be interesting to see…” A wasted word lacking backbone, a vague filler that does not convey how or why. They sit around a table, cameras focused on every micro-expression recording meaningful noise. Blah, blah eventually followed by, “It will be interesting to… more blah, blah.” Wh

I Ate My Twin

Could it be true? Mom told me repeatedly that I had a twin! I always thought she was teasing. Fact or fiction? Mom had two boy’s names picked out, Michael and Kenneth. I’ve never found another lefty in the family tree. I did not have the ‘traditional side part’. I always felt out of step, even convinced I was the ‘black sheep of the family’. I’ve a polythelia. (only happens 6% of the time). I now believe I ‘ate my twin’ or absorbed my twin. It has a name. ‘Vanishing Twin Synd

Bloody Body Bags

A school day. We drop our children off to be with their friends, confident they are safe while attending classes. Returning home, we began our weekend chores. Until. We hear planes approaching, then the sound we fear the most: exploding bombs dropped by the unseen . We run, we pray, we see our neighbors as they rush toward smoke. We turn the corner and hear the cries, the smell of burned bodies, acrid. Bloody body bags filled the street. The supreme leader killed, and so are

The TikTok USDS Joint Venture, LLC

Ever wonder who controls the news we view? Journalists, influencers, corporations, private governments, algorithms, AI? Fully AI-generated posts: estimated up to 15% on many platforms. AI-assisted content: likely a large share, up to 50% +. Images/visuals: potentially majority AI-assisted. Ask-the-question: Who oversees TikTok content? The TikTok USDS Joint Venture. LLC: ByteDance 19.9% (Chinese parent company) Oracle Corporation 15% (technology and cloud services company) Si

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