Confidentially speaking: A New AI Data Center Approaches

Remember this: When the water is high, it is high. When the water is low it is almost gone. I hope the AI isn't thirsty.

Due to the duck hunter noting he thought the duck pond was a tad dry, it got me to ruminating on water availability in the area, be it from the sky, under ground or coursing through as a natural water body. 

Of course, a new fear is unlocked or hope emerges...

Eagle Myra, LLC (Stream Data Centers) has been approved by the county to build a billion dollar data center in my county that plans to use a closed-loop cooling system which uses up to 43,050 gallons of water per day over six buildings. Like all corporations, they were given the discount treatment due to the approval coming via the Fee-in-Lieu of Taxes agreement that include special source revenue credits for covering the costs of infrastructure. 

The system this company is using is called closed-loop cooling. This closed-loop cooling system doesn't require high volumes of water extraction from local environments. My wee brain googled, what could this mean?

I feel like an owl regurgitating a damn pellet of knowledge and questions. Oh that after taste of biblical answers. This is a complex subject to traverse. 

Yet you can not find the details for this plan on the internet to read. It would appears the use of a code name and a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with the local officials acknowledging limited public information caused concern with the citizens. Appears shady right out the gate and the company hasn't told them the location or the river that it is going to leach off of. 

I wonder what the environmental impact statement is going to read like. Zoning, environmental impact and infrastructure would have to be addressed throughout its phases to make sure it is up to code. Where or what are the bills that will monitor these conditions?

I decided as a concerned citizen on behalf of environmental stewardship, God-given right to water, water availability, and keeping tabs on the local politicians making decisions based around secrecy, it makes me ponder.

The Council held a public hearing on Ordinance #2026-01 (Project Liberty) on 2026/01/22, where community members and the Pee Dee Lynches Riverkeepers raised concerns about the river drainage and water competition. 

I googled the County Minutes. There are more to come. The date for these minutes is February 10, 2026:

"Mr. Anthony Bolner, along with his colleague Santiago Escobar representing the developer of the proposed data center within the Marion County Industrial Park. He stated that the project is still operating under confidentiality. Eagle MYRA1, LLC is backed by a long-standing American Data Center development company with more than 26 years of experience designing, building, and operating data center campuses across the United States. Data Center projects like this one represent long-term local investments with development results that are designed to be quiet safe, environmentally responsible neighbors and strong contributors to the local communities in which they operate. At its core, a data center is a clean and secure facility that supports the digital services many of us rely on every day. Unlike heavy industrial uses, data centers do not involve manufacturing chemicals or industrial discharge, and they operate with very limited daily traffic and staffing. From an environmental and infrastructure standpoint, this project has been intentionally designed to minimize impacts. This facility uses a closed-loop cooling system, meaning there is no daily water consumption for cooling and no cooling-related discharge. Water use is limited to basic domestic needs, similar to a small office building, and there is no impact to groundwater or surrounding agricultural operations. Noise impacts are also minimal. Mechanical equipment is enclosed or screened, emergency generators operate only during limited testing or outages, and the site layout incorporates setbacks and buffers to further protect nearby properties. The developer will fully fund the required electrical infrastructure and utility upgrades, ensuring that no financial burden on existing customers or taxpayers will result from this development. Economically, this project represents a significant long-term investment in Marion County. Each building is projected to contribute at least $12-14 million per year to the County’s tax base, providing meaningful, sustained support for public services while also creating permanent, well paying local jobs. Mr. Bolner stated that Eagle MYRA1, LLC is committed to being a responsible, transparent partner, one that invests in Marion County, protects its natural resources, and delivers long-term economic benefits while remaining a clean, safe, and low-impact neighbor. Councilman Floyd appointed Mr. David Owens to the Marion County Zoning and Appeals Board. Motion was made by Councilman Rogers to appoint the County Administrator, David Crotts, to the Pee Dee Regional Council of Governments Board. The motion was seconded by Councilman Foxworth and carried unanimously. Minutes, February 10, 2026, Page 6 Motion was made by Councilman Foxworth, seconded by Councilman Gilchrist, and carried unanimously, to go into executive session for a legal briefing -Watford vs Marion County/CPST (Capital Sales Tax) matter. Motion was made by Councilman Foxworth, seconded by Councilman Gilchrist, and carried unanimously, to close executive session and reopen the regular meeting. Chairman Tennie stated that no action was taken during executive session called for a legal briefing -Watford vs Marion County/CPST (Capital Sales Tax) matter. Motion was made by Councilman Gilchrist that on February 24th, a meeting will be held at 6:00 pm, and on February 26th, a meeting will be held at 9:00 am, to identify any questions that the citizens may have regarding the data center. Chairman Tennie stated that, as a Council, they came up with two (2) dates. He stated that the County is doing its best to get the information across to the citizens of Marion County about the data center. The motion was seconded by Councilman Foxworth and carried unanimously. There being no further business to discuss motion was made by Councilman Foxworth, seconded by Councilman Floyd, to adjourn the meeting at approximately: 12:53 PM."

You can always depend on the local county government to either throw you under the bus on issues, address the issues, or the odious but expected sound of crickets. They are the first line of offense to sell out the community with the promise of something greater. 

For future reference this statement says it has a low impact on natural resources as a transparent partner, yet everything is confidential? Side-eyes.

                                          Photography by  Adam Zubek-Nizol

It would appear if you have no educational meetings addressing citizen concern, an online PDF to read about the project, or other tools to address questions and concerns by the locals, it would be expected that the company would have some sort of pushback? Better to educate constituents on the process that the AI data center would be utilizing than to leave them in the dark and expect them to do a trust fall after all the shenanigans of the Government, Federal, state, and local since forever. 

Local citizens are concerned about the AI data center usage versus residential and commercial businesses due to times of drought, competition with agricultural needs, and water table dropping. We still have to deal with the damming of water Upstate since the floods. There is the statement this facility is not suppose to impact residents electric and water bills. We will see.

The burning question here is: If you come to the table with secrecy, an NDA, and claims to be a transparent partner, with no data, how do you expect anyone to greet you with open arms and great expectations? What does this mean for the natural environment and where is your data? Are you collecting impact data? You want to use the land, the river, the water, and that has occupants of Nature that can't speak for themselves. 

We, as constituents, are among those living in this ecosystem that we speak of and can be just as affected by poor water quality, system malfunctions that could pollute the areas and impact wetlands that we go hunting on for duck, deer, hog, alligator, and fish out the rivers where heavy metals are already an issue. Now we have to worry about stormwater runoff impacting water, soil, and air quality in local habitats. Yet, is is implied that this facility is low use but if not managed correctly could impact wetlands and surround communities and farmland. Farmland in itself has become problematic due to real estate agents selling large tracts for cul-de-sac and elderly farmers being preyed upon by those types of people because they see a better vision for the property that doesn't include you living on it. To the nursing home with you.

With new business types such as the AI data centers, new regulations have to be formed to address special considerations for the possible fallout from its existence. One particular legislation is SC HB 4583, which mandates closed-loop systems and required data centers to report surface and groundwater usage for projects impacting sensitive areas. 

Swinging back around to natural habitat impacts and water availability when it comes to the forest, swamp, and byways, what could be so concerning?

Drought vulnerability, ecosystem disturbance and destruction, noise and light pollution and regional context.

We live on a living plane requiring water for living things to flourish. In the face of drought, those creatures and plants can't get the nutrients that feed them and become at-risk species. Animal, plant, fair or foul thing could disappear because we elected to keep our data contained or protected in a structure that shares an environment. Data doesn't care about the outside world. It is data. If there is a considerable uptake of water then that means more fires on the landscape. There may not be enough to grow crops to feed people, or your hunting harvests. You might not be able to buy corn to bait with because its not viable in the face of water scarcity. 

Indigenous people have been screaming and fighting on this topic for years, yet here we are. Mind-boggling.

While we focus on the local struggle, what kind of impact are these centers going to have on the larger area? Now you have to plot the locations of all these data centers by a water source and while they are running simultaneously, collectively what would there impact be?

Considering ecosystem disturbances, stormwater runoff and sediment entering waterways could affect hydrology and water quality. 

Noise and light pollution is to be expected. The cooling fans and security lights could disrupt humans and animals but at this point people are afraid to go with a light source, day or night. The next county over has become so over grown with human habitation that it lights up the sky from fifty miles away and disturbs the constellations in the sky. 

Larger data centers in the state are procuring stricter mitigation plans and required to report for all the incoming data centers.

It is concerning. When you have lived a long time to watch fifty miles one way get mowed down for the sake of industry and growth, you wonder is it all worth it if it is all gone. The green turns to grey and that is sad to think about.

Upcoming Public Meetings in Marion County at the Marion County Administration Building (2523 East Highway 76)

March 26, 2026  Thursday  Regular meeting 7:00 pm

April 14, 2026  Tuesday   Regular meeting 9:00 pm

April 23, 2026  Thursday  Regular meeting 7:00 pm 

There are several bills currently moving through the SC State House to create a state-level permitting process for data centers that are currently being handled by local governance.  

The following are proposed bills:

Proposed Moratorium (H.5286)

Introduced in 3/2026, this bill would temporarily halt final approvals for new data center projects until 2028, to include rezoning and building permits to allow for more environmental impact research. 

Data Center Development Act (S.867)

This bill would establish a new office within the Department of Environmental Services (DES) to oversee siting. It would require

efficiency mandates used for closed-loop cooling systems to recycle water than draw from local sources and ratepayer protections that require data centers to pay 100 percent of their infrastructure costs or prevent residential utility bill increases. 

Data Center Responsibility Act (H.4583)

This is a strict proposal that would require facilities to be energy independent and maintaining $50 million in environmental liability insurance and generating 100% of power on-site. 

Water Usage Transparency (S.724)

This bill requires any commercial data center consuming over 3 million gallons of water /month to report its usage annually to the state. 

After watching what corporations and government has been doing, you can't trust anything, especially the intentions of others. So bring on the regulations I say. 

The world is filled with data and now we have become hoarders of that data. But why?

These are useful links to help you start your AI learning journey.

Useful Substacks

https://samueleburns.substack.com/p/solar-farms-in-marion-county-the?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=6i708h&triedRedirect=true&_src_ref=google.com

Ground Water Monitoring Network

https://des.sc.gov/programs/bureau-water/hydrology/groundwater-program/groundwater-level-monitoring-network

The Pond is Dry and other Conundrums

                                                      Photography by Yulia Gapeenko

 

Remember this: Migratory birds fly for miles. They remember and learn what to avoid. So do I.

Lately, life has been a distraction from my conservation efforts due to other people's health conditions. Today, I sat down and tried to review what the mind should be preoccupied with. 

Basically for me, being nosy and writing.

A duck hunter who previously rented land to peruse stopped me in the local store and informed me that he rented but didn't go on the property because the pond was dry. Its not even migratory fowl season and people are looking for perfection. I thought about this. How would he know if he didn't go on the property? I went on the property and took photos months ago. During the one day snow storm, I trucked back into the woods and took photos of the frozen pond and the water in the duck pond that was frozen as well. The reason for this is to make sure there was a hole in the ice on the sump pond so the gases would not build up in the water and form dire consequences. The ice thawed out in that week so it wasn't a long freeze. 

The concept for most endeavors that I do when it comes to habitat construction and maintenance is to let it take its natural course. I guess people expect me to fill nature's duck bathtub up for them? 

Maybe I should toss in some decoys?

I began to have thoughts on water economy and scarcity. It has been on my mind since I heard about the projected AI data center in my county reported by local news. Ergo, its shroud in secrecy so I expect there to be something else going on in those six buildings. 

Now I got a disillusioned duck hunter, a dry pond, a drought of some sorts, and a data center looming in the distant future. 

Here I was thinking of buying some duck eggs and hatching them. Let no good intention go to pot. 

Its not bad enough I have to see the influx of deer into my county because the county over is so overrun with humans, buildings and their activities that the deer are now trying to hide across county lines. It looks like an alien invasion at night. I feel sorry for the deer because all the hunters do is drive around day and night trying to figure out how they can capitalize on watching a herd of ruminants get jammed up in a small area of farm and woodland. The pressure on them is incredible. Yet on rolls the wheels of progress, right over us all. 

Its a struggle. I am waiting on people to complain we need a killing because the deer are pooping in their yard. I have actually heard this non-sense from a person that was trying to request a permit to snipe them off her property. Wasted meat, what a shame.

Those deer's only crime was existence and having to have a bowel movement. Can you imagine what her thoughts were on human beings. 

It is more of a pain in the posterior when you are trying to manage a location that is a breeding ground for those little 20 lb sukies the hunters with their kids indiscriminating go out an shoot because everyone needs to have an experience. They won't even allow them to have a moments piece with their progeny. Its like the feeling people must have had back in the day when they were smoking bison and stacking them high. I sound so bitter. Guess I am?

                                                 Photography by Hamim Fadillah

I am not even gonna get into the other raging disappoint in my life when it comes to agencies that fall short of grace, character, and valor to be a bunch of punk barney's running around in the woods. All they are about is the bottom line.  

The plan is to go assess the situation and figure out if I can improve it but unless the tears of God fall from the sky, I don't expect a surplus of water to fill a hole in the ground to fulfill another person's expectations.

Holy Punctuation!

Remember this: At the changing of the Guard of the Great Blogger, sometimes you have to watch out for the data running off the rails. 

If you have read my previous posts, you will see it has been littered with poor punctuation, etc. Due to Blogger changing with its updates to the programming and algorithm, there are times the format goes out of correction and turns into a diabolical nightmare for anyone with pet peeves on correct grammar. Even the font has to be sassy. 

So apologies for that. 

Grammar and punctuation ghosts start popping up left and right. Since the Dark Ages of Me on this platform, there are gap years when I fell into Corporate slavery, hunting melancholy, and my life path ran across many states. Those were the Dark Ages along with malicious mystery bad actors that searched for me high and low and branded me a Criminal since the Third Grade! 

As eyes are reading, I am going back to those and correcting them. 

Thank you in advance.

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Copyright © 2026  All Rights Reserved

Halloween Creative Prompt Hunt

Image Credit: Andres Ramos

Remember this: Games are fun. Let them begin. 

Dear Reader de Noches,

As promised, here are some creative spooky prompts to get you going. Finished products should be posted to social media so we can see. 

Expires 10-31-2025 at 12:00 am. 

1. You have just found out Aunt Vera has passed. Aunt Vera is into the Occult. She is on her way quietly housed in a urn made in the shape of a spirit box. Unbeknownst to the family-the spirit box is real. Tell or show us everything that has happened the week after her remains arrive at your door up to Halloween. Remember she didn't like you, or does she? You can do a video journal everyday. Incorporate an eerie original tune. Make Aunt Vera proud!

2. You are a homicidal maniac that is having second thoughts over your obsession for a book character called OingaBoinga. Make a video directed at Booktok rallying the Booktok troops to do a supporting video expounding on why OingaBoinga is the best thing since birria tacos. FYI-OingaBoinga's favorite color is Sunset Orange.

3. Aunt Vera's husband, Uncle Jerry, has a phobia of Haints and the color blue. He is suspicious Aunt Vera is coming back to haunt him due to her newfound knowledge in the Spirit World. What could it be? FYI-Uncle Jerry is prone to semi-sleep paralysis.

4. The artist job is to be interpretive. In your best creative dramatic way, retell the story of how Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones meet. Of course, feel free to elaborate on the Headless Horseman's allergies to all things pumpkin spice and fire hazards. 

5. Working from a script, you as the noob actor is asked to screen test a moment from Rearview Window. Do your best alternative ending Jimmy Stewart scene. Be horrifying. 

6. Dressed and in character as Alfred Hitchcock, video diary facial expressions and dialogue in spooky lighting, a moment of terrible realization that something is amiss. Be original. 

7. Write a three minute historical mystery that is filled with suspense, in prose, that alludes to something brewing to make us feel uneasy about the present. Read it to a spooky tune and upload to Tiktok. 

8. Have an Edwardian lunch while Rome is burning in the background with a quartet of violins playing Akasha's song. 

9. Work from your super power as a journalist. Dress as Miss Crabbits and tell us, while spying out the window on Hollow's Eve, why its important to be nosy and ask questions. She lives on Magnifying Street. 

10. Construct a Birkin bag knockoff but make it Halloween. Use cheap constructs. Make sure your logo is front and center. 

11. Bake a cake in sculpture form. Use vintage Halloween as inspiration.

12. Construct a stop motion video or vinyl record cover called, Life of a VooDoo doll. 

13. In your best childlike art draw a picture of what scares you in dreams.

14. You are a gypsy tarot reader. Your customer changes into a werewolf. Use TooTurntTony as Inspiration. 

15. Using Hieronymus Bosch as inspiration. Construct a foam board triptych of vintage Halloween images that tell a story.

Happy Candy Hunting 

Image Credit: Emran Hossain

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Copyright © 2026 All Rights Reserved.

What does it mean?

Remember this: Your knee jerk reaction tells me something about what your mental tendencies gravitate toward. 

Sometimes I have sleepless nights. I get on the social medias and visit what the general collective manic unconscious is doing and saying. The current crazy is Taylor Swift and a necklace she has put out as an offering. I could do some political think piece about war torn countries but that is a blot that will never subside. What can you do but talk, walk, rally, and have the police menace you for exercising your Constitutional Rights. 

This is going to be a short one. I am not telling you what to do. I am giving suggestions.

First off, if you are not sitting in the room with the people making the choices for jewelry construction for commercial production, maybe it is not a good idea that you start tacking your subjective surmises to its appearance in the world.  

Second, don't let your personal dislikes, that add a negative connotation, lead you down the wanton road of distain and contempt for a person because you think they are and have had a better deal than you in the Olympic Games of life. 

Third, get better acquainted with the use of signs and symbols. Carl Jung wrote a whole book on that topic. It might be a good idea that you sit down with some actual literature or take a literature class that shows you how to appreciate the written word in whatever form it should take. Do not make yourself look stupid in public. It is easy to do. 

Fourth, don't blow a dog whistle or listen for one when the content and context of that whistle is leading you down an erroneous path. That path is going to make you look shallow, uninformed and well; it illustrates your lack of critical thinking skills and the nuances of a low tier Mastermind at best. 

Fifth, when in doubt, do not act. That keeps you from making yourself look dumb in front of your peers, or strangers, whatever your vibe is for the night. 

Sixth, always remember you do not have every vantage point to speak from. Speaking from a vantage point while holding up a greasy monocle over your one good eye is ridiculous. 

I am sure I can go on but moving along. 

Looks like a perfectly good not overworked necklace. Zeus and Thor would be proud. The necklace is as follows: 

How did the general population come to the conclusion this was Nazi work? Did you not investigate who the maker was? Where did the ideas come from? Why does it have to have meaning? Did anyone check to see if it was metal or plastic? Was it appropriated from a stone wall somewhere? 

I buy stuff all the time that has no meaning except that I like it and it is pretty. If it resonant with something in your spirit, you are going to get it even if it is a whim, or trend buy. An alien may dig it off of a piece of rock in outer space one dark space night because Earth blew up and there it is.  I can only image what that alien is going to be thinking.

To add my two cents of unsolicited advice and observation, this is what I offer up to you as fat to chew in your journey to discover the meaning of Taylor Swift's Voynich necklace. Certainly, in time this mystery will be cleared up but just so it puts you in a sense of emotional crisis of your own choosing, I hope you get closure. 

What does this have to do with hunting? Nothing. Sometimes you find yourself chasing after something that makes no sense. 

At this point, she is pulling a Jack Sparrow. 

Here is what I put forth as gasoline. 

Taylor Swift is a lyrist that uses the spoken word, Easter eggs, signs symbols, and visual aids to keep her audience challenged and engaged. It appears the visual of lightning bolts and something that looks like a star can be confusing, but I believe it is a maritime compass used for navigation.

When you juxtaposition a lightning bolt and a navigational compass together you combine the symbols of chaotic, destructive, and divine power with the human search for guidance, order, and purpose. This creates tension between explosive inspiration and deliberate guided action. 

The Lightning Bolt

The lightning bolt could be interpreted as a sudden, powerful and divine intervention that can bring about destruction, creation, or joining of things not likely to happen. The lightning bolt can be a quick jolting creative force. If you think of the saying, "a bolt from the blue", could be interpreted as a life-changing event, moment of profound clarity, or making way for the new and removing the old. 

The Compass

Sometimes on a navigation compass the magnetic needle will be shaped like a thunderbolt.  That little piece will point True North or tell you in what direction you are heading. 

When you put the two together, the compass represents a reliable wayfinding tool. It symbolizes staying on the right path, finding one's way, and to a specific destination. As a inner moral compass, it's used as a metaphor for reminding you to trust your instincts and stay true to your values, even amid confusion.

Sailors would get tattoos for protection and good luck to encourage adventure and exploration for safe travels. 

When you combine the lightning bolt and the compass you get the following:

• Divine guidance vs human will
• Intuition and purpose
• Adapting to chaos

Pairing the two creates a powerful tension between fate and free will. The lightning bolt is destiny imposed by a higher power, while the compass represents the individual's freedom and intention to choose their direction. 

Together they represent finding one's path as the lightning bolt is a eureka moment and the compass is the tool used to pursue the sudden insight deliberately. It symbolizes both radical vision and the discipline action needed to achieve it. 

In regard to adapting to chaos, the lightning bolt represents unpredictable chaos of life, and the compass symbolizes being grounded and oriented despite the external turmoil. It is a symbol of resilience of using one's inner wisdom to navigate the storms of existence. 

Yet, beware. Magnetism from a lightning strike can cause your compass to go awry. It has the ability to change the properties of the alloy effectively changing the metallurgy of the component. 

If you look at Taylor Swift's life and her roadies, her life appears to be exciting and grandiose, but she is inside of a machine that rolls based on execution of time and precision, so she doesn't have much time for else when she is in its throws. You could imagine her feelings of being on the Hamster Wheel of Entertainment. It would be like an addict stuck in their addiction living out the same day, day in and day out. That would eventually crush your soul because you would assimilate to be like the machine that your habitat and ecosystem have trapped you in. That is a closed system, a fish tank. One thing gets out of balance the whole tank dies. The only thing you have to look for is collapse and demise. 

Most people don't think about how their life is lived in a plethora of ecosystems, open and closed. 

When you look at the timeline of her life struggles while the obnoxious voices in the back say she is entitled. No. She has suffered. She tells you in songs of her treatment and people buy her pain, joy, melancholy, etc. No one ever stops the problems of what she is in and affected by. Its entertainment.

When you see people online attack her for a necklace and use Nazi crap, you can see why our country is like it is. You can see why human beings are so messed up. It's like watching lemmings with gas and matches running off a cliff into a pile of dry wood while screaming, "Death to the invaders." The mindset of destruction will never make sense to me. Right now, there seem to be a lot of people trying as hard as they can to bring her down. That is a lot of effort for one person. She must be awesome to instill that much fear and hate. and equal parts love and loyalty.

You have to think now that she has met a partner that will set her on a journey where it will change courses and the unexpected will be on every horizon. She will not be able to do the same Hamster wheel she has been stuck in. Life is a changing for her. She might be a little off right now because she got hit by lightning. Her compass is pointing in many directions but only the one that is her heart's desire, as Jack Sparrow says will fix her True North and carry her in the direction that will make all the difference and sense in the world, for fair or foul.

Would you look at that?

~Courtesy of the AOFH~

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved