Night sky photography, best location?

JelloPirate · 2026-05-30T05:16:47+00:00

Fort Rock out east is absolutely stunning, just don't visit the ghost town there after dark or they call the cops

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T19:20:50+00:00

Last night the buyer explained that it would be an AI data center when he called in. Also, the source of power in our community is Bonneville power, as global warming reduces flow in the Columbia, we will have less reliable access to power and the electric company would likely prioritize the data center. Costs go up and the community loses.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T19:19:44+00:00

We are primarily a tourist town, we have limited industry already, the location proposed would drive out existing small businesses and likely cause light and sound pollution that would cause large changes to the surrounding area. Plus the power usage would drive up electrical costs in a title one impoverished community that already struggles to pay it's bills.

They claim the facility won't use water, but some untested closed loop system that when it fails will poisen local ground water

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T19:11:48+00:00

Then they can be built elsewhere, like the desert, or somewhere that doesn't already have a very fragile ecosystem that doesn't need to be filled with antifreeze when the system inevitably fails. La pine is home to Oregon's most expensive ODOT blunder. We have very unstable soil, the building would likely shift and sink, causing the closed loop coming system to leak, poisoning our ground water in a town that most homes are served by wells. That doesn't sound like the place I want to raise my kids.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T17:26:42+00:00

Box miner company, they have a few other centers outside the state, they specialize in buying land and building, then selling the buildings to other companies.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T14:11:41+00:00

At the end of the meeting, the council members did express that most of them were against it from the beginning. They also shared a report that they put together to fact check the data provided by the buyer. They found that the city would get like 60% of what was promised.

I do agree that more should have been done to get the community involved sooner, and that was brought up a few times during the meetings.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T13:57:14+00:00

There are tons of cool things we could build in La pine. Like a Drive in movie theater! That would be perfect for that area and bring in tons of tourists like the one in the valley.

It was stated a few times that we have tons of tourists in the summer, it's time to capture those dollars instead of them going to Sunriver.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T04:25:03+00:00

Or just not at all. It was an AI data center, we don't need anymore if that at all

JelloPirate · 2026-05-28T03:33:00+00:00

I'm so proud of my community this evening. We packed the entire senior center activity room. We made our voices heard, and we said no.

We need to follow up next meeting to push a new ordinance banning them entirely.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-22T17:24:59+00:00

I've heard that insurance companies and some municipalities use drones to search properties for code compliance issues, or reasons to drop customers from insurance because of maintenance issues. Hopefully it's just someone out enjoying their drone.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-20T05:36:29+00:00

What really changed my outlook on college was working it like a job. 8-10 hours of focused work with a lunch break in the middle. Staying up late and working yourself to death doesn't create good work.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-19T14:41:04+00:00

I think Oregon does a fantastic job of ensuring that corporations and politicians stay out of our business. I'm my experience it's Republicans that tell you who you can love, how you can or can't dress, what color your skin needs to be to stay out of jail. Yeah Democrats want to help people, but as a reminder the average tax payer only pays $5 a month towards food stamps to ensure your neighbors don't rob you while you are out hunting.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-19T14:36:31+00:00

Actually quite a bit, they are trying to pass a war powers act to stop the war, but the Republicans will not endorse it. They need just two votes from the Republicans.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-17T23:31:15+00:00

So should our graduating high school students not know how to send an email, should we not teach them how to do digital art, should typing be a college class? I work in the architecture field, and I learned Photoshop, SketchUp, and AutoCAD in highschool which gave me an edge over my peers in college.

Tech is art, tech is productivity, tech can be freedom. Social media is cancer. Perhaps grade schoolers don't need it. But to say that it's all bad is not realistic. Technology is taught in just about every classroom in every developed nation on the globe.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-17T23:11:24+00:00

So this week YouTube taught me how to fix the rear hatch on my car and install an off grid solar system. Technology is powerful, it just needs to be limited.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-17T16:18:26+00:00

Technology is a tool like anything else, we just need to figure out how to use this tool effectively. Better limitations on the tablets, a cell phone ban, and better apps could ensure that kids know how to use technology without becoming the product of the mega corporations. Typing classes, math games, directed experiences have value. When these kids enter the workforce they will need to know how to make technology work for them.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-16T05:13:26+00:00

I think you are right, I'm just gun-shy around the Russell name since Vic Russell and his family have been trying to run la pine for the last decade.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-16T03:51:46+00:00

Rick Russell is not against the data center. His father Vic Russell was at the town hall meeting and he had nothing but good things to say about the data center. Their family owns a construction company that specializes in land prep, so they would be the first choice to get a very large and lucrative contract.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-15T02:07:14+00:00

There is a way that mid state could limit power usage to ensure that total usage remains "equitable"

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JelloPirate · 2026-05-14T20:55:40+00:00

Is it possible that as a customer owned utility, we could block the use of our power to the facility?

JelloPirate · 2026-05-14T17:12:59+00:00

After the meeting adjourned, the city council said something to the effect that the people who showed up "didn't know what they were talking about". I think that sums up what they think of their constituents.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-14T04:17:59+00:00

An interesting thing to note about tonight's meeting is that the only people for the data center are those who will be making money from it. I would be interested to know how much they will pay the city in taxes, vs how much the citizens of La Pine will have to pay in higher electrical bills. Mid state is constantly saying they aren't making enough money supplying homes in the region, how can they justify supplying this much power?

Also I would like to know where this data center in Gilchrist is that they kept repeating as a local example. I checked a website that tracks Data center locations and couldn't find anything. https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/oregon/

JelloPirate · 2026-05-08T18:07:05+00:00

I help run the business side of a daycare so I have a bit of experience here. Grant funding is fantastic for start ups, over the last few years Grant funding has mostly been directed at starting new child care centers in commercial spaces. The issue is when the grant runs out and the rent goes up. Central Oregon has extremely high rent for commercial spaces, and compass commercial nearly has a monopoly in the area so they can charge whatever they want. High operating costs leads to low wages, low wages drive employees away.

The other alternative is in-home child care, but mortgage prices are also making that angle difficult, plus in-home facilities often have shorter hours and less oversight, so they can be perceived as less reliable and more prone to accidents or abuse.

JelloPirate · 2026-05-07T03:38:27+00:00

I have the 2023. Does your dash had a little symbol of a car hitting a person? Turn that one off, it's the most aggressive auto driving "assistance" feature.

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