A Texas father sold his dream car to pay for his newborn son’s diapers. This year, for his dad’s 65th birthday, his son surprised him with a restored version of the same 1967 Chevrolet Camaro — right down to its color (blue with white stripes). The video will melt your heart.
A small town in Texas will soon house the world’s biggest bitcoin mine
Corsicana, Texas is a small town an hour away from Dallas. They kicked off the oil boom in the South 130 years ago, turning their land into a money-making machine. Today, it’s the kind of dreary town you don’t stop in because there’s nothing memorable.
The oil dried up long ago, and so did all the money. Corsicana is trying to recapture the magic they once had, this time with the world’s largest bitcoin mine. When I read about what was happening, I knew you’d find it interesting, too.
A new money revolution
In Corsicana, the Riot bitcoin facility is under construction on a massive 265-acre site. The operation is still in the planning phase, and Riot is in the middle of negotiating the details with the local government. One thing that’s certain at this point? Many residents aren’t welcoming the new facility.
To explain why, let’s look at how this operation translates into real-life money. Mining a single bitcoin (currently worth more than $66,000) requires a ton of computer power. That’s the beauty of these large facilities, where powerful computer chips can work together. They run complex math equations, and whoever owns the computer chip that solves the math equation becomes the owner of that bitcoin.
Since the servers do all the work, the process is pretty passive for those in charge. In essence, bitcoin mines turn raw computing power into real money.
In a town that desperately needs cash, it sounds almost too good to be true. So, what’s the catch?
‘Quality of life’
… At least, that’s what the Texas Coalition Against Crypto Mining says. The grassroots movement was formed after crypto mining facilities disrupted life in several other Texas towns.
Take Granbury, population 13,000. They learned a little too late bitcoin mines can be very, very loud. Computer components get hot when they’re working at max capacity around the clock, and most bitcoin mines use air cooling to keep them running.
The sound of hundreds or even thousands of components running all day can be heard for miles. Imagine how frustrating it must feel to wake up to that day after day.
The energy tax
Son gifts dad the car he sold to buy diapers 40 years ago
🤠 Did you hear Elon Musk is moving X and SpaceX to Texas? Yup, now all his X-es live in Texas. (Oh, good one there!) Speaking of Musk, right now, you can spot Starlink’s massive train of 6,219 satellites in the sky. Go to FindStarlink.com and type in your city to see when and where it’s visible near you over the next five days.
🤠 A Texa-llent idea: Remember the winter storm that left millions of Texans without power? The state is now requiring all crypto miners, big or small, to register. Any unregistered mining outfit that consumes over 75 megawatts (that would be like charging 1,500 Teslas at once) is looking at fines ranging up to $25,000 per day. That’s one big mine!
In August 1991, astronauts sent the first email from space to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Was the closing line … A.) “Hasta la vista, baby,” B.) “To infinity and beyond!” C.) “Houston, we have an email,” or D.) “Catch you on the flip side”?
$1 million-plus
To build a gamer’s paradise. An Austin software engineer turned his home into LAN party heaven for in-person gaming marathons. His setup includes 22 computers, four Dance Dance Revolution pads and a board game room. Let’s just hope he added showers.
AI window-washing robots make their U.S. debut in Dallas
🧽 Window washing 2.0: Cleaning high-rise windows is risky work, but a spider-like AI robot is about to change that. Named after those gravity-defying mountain goats, Ibex only needs a button press to get to work. It climbs buildings, using cameras and sensors to scan surfaces, dodge window frames and leave no spot untouched. The robots are already in Texas, so don’t be surprised if they pop up everywhere soon.
🏥 The hologram will see you now: A hospital outside of Dallas is the first in the country to use a $65,000 Holobox. The device beams a 3D image of your doctor inside what looks like a futuristic vending machine for a slightly more personal telehealth appointment. Good news for areas with doctor shortages.
🧽 Clear view of where this is going: Cleaning high-rise windows is risky. Enter a spider-like AI robot named Ibex that can climb buildings and use cameras and sensors to scan surfaces, dodge window frames and leave no spot untouched. The robots are already in Texas, so don’t be surprised if you see one crawling around near you.
🏠 Knock-knock! Who’s there? Elon Musk dropped $35 million on two massive homes within walking distance of each other in Austin, Texas. The big plan? A family compound for two of the three mothers of his 11 kids. Rumor has it only one mom has agreed to move in. Musk tried to keep it hush-hush, making sellers sign NDAs and offering 70% above market value. Didn’t work.
10 most affordable cities
In the U.S. are primarily in the South and Midwest. McAllen, Texas, takes the top spot, with home prices averaging $275,000 (paywall link). Rounding out the top three: Wichita, Kansas, and Little Rock, Arkansas.
1,500 miles traveled
To return a kid’s beloved stuffed animal. A Texas woman took to Facebook after her 9-year-old left his stuffed gorilla at a California hotel. A stranger saw the post, went an hour out of her way to pick it up, then documented the gorilla’s journey home. Absolutely watch this if you need a smile!
Stranger travels 1,500 miles to return lost stuffed animal to 9-year-old
A Texas woman took to Facebook after her 9-year-old left his stuffed gorilla at a California hotel. A stranger saw the post, went an hour out of her way to pick it up, then documented the gorilla’s journey home. Absolutely watch this if you need a smile!
A load of garbage: A woman in Texas used Apple AirTags to track her recycling bags after dropping them off for the city’s “all plastic accepted” program. Spoiler: Instead of being processed as expected, the bags were dumped in a nearby storage facility. Turns out, hundreds of thousands of pounds of unrecycled materials are sitting around.
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💸 Someone’s getting fired: Texas-headquartered company Orion lost $60 million in a bank wire transfer scam. Details are scarce, but these schemes usually involve someone tricking a finance department employee via email. The FBI warns it’s becoming a multibillion-dollar problem. Here are tips for staying safe if you run a biz or ever need to make a wire transfer.
$108,150 salary
To be a cop in Plano, Texas. Big-city police departments were having trouble recruiting, so they pulled out all the stops (paywall link). Perks include take-home cars, paid workout hours and a relaxed tattoo policy. It’s working — more officers joined in 2023 than in the four years prior.
When a Superhost is super creepy: Airbnb Superhosts have high ratings and low cancellation rates. One in Texas recorded over 2,000 images using security cameras of adults and children sleeping and undressing. He got a year in jail for it.
Everything’s bigger in Texas: A San Antonio man listed a Stealth Bomber aircraft on Facebook Marketplace for $2.9 million. The description includes, “Don’t ask me how I got it” and “You couldn’t imagine the hoops I had to jump through to get this.” The Air Force confirmed the post is, of course, bogus.
The future is now: A Texas hospital now lets patients see their doctors via hologram. The Holobox beams a high-quality 3D image that makes it seem like the doc is sitting right there. Why this over Zoom? Doctors can see the patient’s full body. The catch? The machine costs $42,000, so expect to pay up for 3D visits.
America’s water systems are a cyber target: Systems in Kansas, Texas and Pennsylvania have already been hit by hackers in China, Russia and Iran. Blame outdated tech and poor cybersecurity. No joke, some water systems still use default passwords. This scares me and it’s why I keep extra water on hand.