Button

Buttons have become indispensable to many clothing items. Shirts, shorts, pants, coats often have buttons. Buttons are prone to falling off which require them to placed back on. This requires sewing. Sometimes they get lost. I am not sure how a clothing manufacturer decides when and when not to use buttons on say a pair of shorts. Often the shorts button at the waist band, right above the zipper. Some pants or shorts may have a clasp rather than a button. Sewing on a button can be a challenge.

A couple weeks ago, I faced the challenge of sewing a button at the waistband on a pair of my everyday shorts. When I was a child, my mom would have referred to them as play shorts, and I tend to keep that term to this day. It was a pair of cargo shorts, constructed of a rather heavy fabric which in itself posed some challenge. The button had been coming loose for a few days, and I suppose the belt I wear helped hold it in place. But, there was that day a few weeks ago that it came off. I was already in the basement, near my wife's sewing materials so I took the shorts off and had the chore of sewing on the button.

Shorts, after I finally got button on

I had already resewn the button on that pair of shorts two months earlier when my spouse was with her mother for a few weeks. Apparently, I did not do a very good job of sewing the button on at that time. I grabbed the same needle, which had used a couple months ago as still contained a bit of the thread I had used. I pulled out that small length and grabbed some new thread from the spool. To my surprise, I was able to get the needle threaded on only one try, so my confidence is up. I was, at that time, pretty proud of myself for such a great accomplishment. 

Next, came making a knot in the thread. Here I take both ends of the thread and attempt to tie them together. My confidence quickly dissipates as I had to make several attempts to tie this knot. Talk about painstaking task. When I finally had the thread knotted I had to sew the button on. The double or triple layers of fabric made going through the fabric rather difficult, not to mention trying to line up to go from the other side and making one of the three available holes in the button. The button had four holes, and even I was smart enough to know not to back through the same hole. I became smart and use the surface of her sewing machine table to place the needle on and pull the pants through the needle onto the button. After several minutes I am pretty happy with my success at this task. 

The next step is where I screwed up and I could only laugh at my incompetence. I had put the button on the inside of the waist band not on the outside. After all that effort, I had to cut it off, re-thread the needle, which took several attempts this time and then tie a knot in the thread once again and redo the whole sewing on process. 

I finally get the task accomplished and when I got upstairs my wife asked what I had been doing, I told her the button came off my shorts and I needed to sew it back on. Not only that I told her I screwed up and put it on the wrong side and had to redo it. She then asked if I had doubled the thread, to which I responded, of course, I had to tie a knot in the end, and to do that I needed two ends of a piece of thread. When she first asked, I wondered if she meant the thread should be doubled when threading the needle so I would have four rather than two strands of thread. She then went in to question, or really an explanation, of how I tied the knot. Her detailed question/explanation was confusing to my mind, and I realized that only a PhD in the physics of material sciences or my wife could understand. She went through it twice, and I said I simply took each end of the thread and tied the knot, which of course, took several attempts. Quite frankly, I think the thread has a bad starter, just like the problem my brother had with his Honda. 

As luck would have it, a few days later another pair of shorts, lost a button, and this time she was with me and volunteered to sew it on. She then taught me the manner to knot the thread. Because it was several days ago, I have forgotten how it is done, but involves licking the thread, wrapping it around the finger and some how magically the thread gets knotted. I tried it a couple times, and was successful on both attempts. I am 67 years old and I now find out an easier way to sew on a button? I will set aside the sanitary nature of licking thread, or you fingers. It is now a matter of remembering this detailed process when I once again need the skill. Of course, I spent several minutes sewing a button on, and she spent perhaps a minute. I am not sure how she can get the needle lined up so quickly with the available holes in the button, but she has some knack. 

The button for attaching clothing was invented in the 13th century Europe, although buttons for ornamentation go back much longer. Today, 800 years later we are still using the same method to attach a button. I wonder who invented the procedure to tie a knot in the thread. That is a game changer. Growing up, my mom had a device for a quick fix which placed a small plastic knob to attach a button, at least that it what I thought. When several kids at the same time have to get ready wearing good clothes, a button often came loose or off. It may not have look the best, but here we had a case of function over form.

Even though my wife is a seamstress, I try not to bother her with such an activity, in part to be self-sufficient. If it is some thing that would matter, like a dress shirt, I would probably have her sew the button on, but shirts seldom lose buttons compared to the button at a waist band that takes more punishment as the garment moves with the waist. Nonetheless, I think there must be an easier way to sew on a button than threading a needle, tie a knot in the thread, which seems finer than fishing line, and then sewing on the button and the alignment required. Who ever thought one could write nine paragraphs about a button?

The Text

I am not sure what we would do without the interconnected world in which we live today. Just think, we would not have to be so concerned about identity theft, fake news, or spamming. Spam is of course a highly processed meat made by Swift, but it also refers to receipt of unsolicited emails, texts or other methods of communication through our information super highway. Bad actors are always trying to scam their way to something by claiming who they are not. This is primarily a story of texts I received on Tuesday, August 12 regarding the Wisconsin Department Transportation.

I think we, at least our land line, is still on the state do not call list, but we still seem to get an high amount of junk calls. Right now our phone will tell us the number calling, or if entered, the person. If it is a number we do not recognize we let it go to voice mail, and if a real person of interest to us, they would leave a message. Somehow they use numbers of other parties. One time they even used our own home land line number to call us. It was quite a surprise when the phone called out a call from that number. 

Sample Text for toll
Source:  WI DMV

I think the first text I received from the "WIDOT," perhaps more than a year ago, was regarding unpaid tolls. Wisconsin, unlike our Friendly Illinois Brethren (FIB) does not have any tollways. The more recent texts were about penalties and fines with a final notice before having my license revoked.

I am not sure who they get phone numbers, or email addresses from, perhaps from varied virus' they obtain information, or maybe they have some random number generators. I seldom text, or receive texts so when I receive one it is usually something I need to attend to. Last week, Tuesday, I was doing to my morning stretches and I received a text from an unknown number regarding outstanding fines or citations from the WI DOT and perhaps even its division of Motor Vehicles (I seldom read the whole text knowing it is a spam scan or phishing), and it was the last day to pay up or I would lose my license. I had my phone nearby so I deleted and reported it as junk. It occurred again, a few minutes later, and I did the same thing. Later in the morning I went for a bike ride, and I received one while biking, as it showed on my watch. I know it would not be the DMV because they are not known for being efficient, plus they do not text. The DMV is old school, even if you wanted to pay your vehicle registration on-line, they have a surcharge. So, we pay the old fashioned way by check through the US Mail. Further, the DMV does not really fine people, most fines are related to traffic violations which arise through the issuing governmental unit. Nonetheless this could be quite a scam opportunity. WIDOT and its DMV has even warned people about this scam. 

I just wanted to get rid of the texts, so when I completed my bike ride and had gotten my cell phone out of its pouch I keep it in when biking, I again deleted and reported it as junk. Almost instantaneously I received another text on the same  matter. I did the same thing--Delete and report. I thought it may be the end, but it was not, I received four or more texts on the same issue. It is heartening to know I am so important to them. Clearly, the report as junk was not doing much at this point. After the several texts of the DMV message I received one final message from the group which read--"PISS OFF". Apparently, they did not like my attitude and desired that I simply succumb to their demands. I deleted and reported that text. It is even more heartening to know that the person, or device sending the texts got as annoyed as I was. Heck it even read my mind as to near what I would have said if I had responded.

It must be a rather sophisticated operation to know when a text was deleted, to resend the message, until its last one. It was, in my opinion, annoying. I just hope that with them having sent that last text, that I have seen the DOT/DMV spams texts because they were pissed off. Although, I am not sure how many groups or individuals are doing the same text scam.

Historical Rhyme?

On a cool and cloudy early fall day, typical of weather in England for that time of year, a British Prime Minister debarked a plane from Munich and proclaimed that we had "Peace in our times."  That statement, made on 30 September 1938 by Neville Chamberlain has gone into history as one of the worst leaders in a time of crises. His comment was on an agreement known as the Munich Accords which was between the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany and ceded the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany for no further German military action. Interestingly, Czechoslovakia had no representation at the negotiating table or a say in what the Western powers, mainly the United Kingdom, concluded. This coming Friday, President Trump, who has made several promises of ending the Ukraine War on day one of this term, will meet with Russian President Putin in, of all places, Alaska. Trump has suggested a land swap may be involved. Will history repeat, and if not necessarily repeat will it rhyme?

Neville Chamberlain meeting Adolph Hitler

While history does not necessarily repeat itself, it certainly rhymes (Mark Twain). Circumstances in history differ, although outcomes may be similar. As of Sunday, August 10, there are contradictory reports if Ukrainian  President Zelenskyy will attend. Trump is a developer, and hence he thinks in terms of land and buildings. Perhaps he is thinking of a golf course. Alaska is an interesting choice since the United States purchased what we know as Alaska from Russia in 1867 for the then high price of $7.2 million ($.02 per acre in 1867), which in 2023 dollars would would be about $129 million. The purchase was highly ridiculed, and termed as Seward's Folly (after Secretary of State William Seward). I can see Putin bringing this up to Trump in suggesting countries grow in land by conquest, by purchase and by "discovery." No more land is being made.  All lands have been "discovered", leaving conquest or purchase as options for territorial expansion. Countries no longer seem interested in sale since, the sales typically involved colonies or territories often far from the country who claimed governance. In 2014 Russia "annexed parts of Ukraine, mainly Crimea. Eight years later, Russia invaded Ukraine. 

Chamberlain announcing his ill-fated agreement

The United States grew by varied manners, including purchases-the Louisiana and Gadsden purchases, beyond that of Alaska, come to mind. The US also had the idea of protecting our borders by the tenant of Manifest Destiny, where the Pacific Ocean was viewed as our destiny. Putin's desire for parts or more of Ukraine lie with a similar desire--that of a buffer between the Russia and the NATO countries of Europe. If this shows one thing, it is how valuable land is, even in modern times. With fast paced weapons today, I am not sure how such a buffer will work, bur for some reason, Putin thinks it is needed. Like the Sudetenland, which was composed of ethnic Germans, including much of Dolni Chrastany were my Havel line migrated from to the US in 1868, there exist areas of ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine The Havel ancestral village of Ratiborova Lhota, even though closer to the German border, was not part of the Sudetenland. After WWII, Czechoslovakia undertook ethnic cleansing of the remaining ethnic Germans in parts of the country, including Dolni Chrastany. German settlers of this area of Bohemia likely started in the mid to late middle ages. Further resettlement of varied ethnic groups occurred in depopulated communities following the Thirty Years war (ended 1648).

Sudetenland areas

No one ever asked those ethnic Germans in the Sudetenland if they desired to be with Germany or remain in Czechoslovakia. Tensions were brewing in Czechoslovakia after WWI due to the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which was a German speaking empire with Austrian leadership. Having been ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire for years many Czechs felt put upon. 

Magenta Line shows Sudetenland border by 
Ratiborova Lhota (out) and Dolni Chrastany (in)

History, like Trump, is intractable, and there are always unintended consequences. Even though Chamberlain proclaimed "Peace in our time," less than a year later Hitler invaded Poland which is the event which triggered WWII. Peace did not hold, and the second world war was the result. The Munich accords are often claimed to be an act of appeasement to Hitler to satisfy his desire for "lebensraum", which translates to living space. More space for the German race, if you will. Territorial desires and war have a strong relationship.

Russian Language main language in Ukraine
Certain areas have over 75% Russian as first language
Source: CNN

President Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine will not cede land to the aggressor, which makes some sense, as there may well be no guarantee what Russia will do next. Just as Hitler reneged on the Munich Accords, Putin could well renege on any agreement. It is clear the Russian annexation in 2014 did nothing to satiate Russian desires for additional territory. Jeffrey Sachs, a professor at Columbia, believes that Ukraine is a proxy for a war essentially between the US and Russia, and the war must stop. Yet, would stopping the war cease imperial ambitions of Russia? Although, I wonder if it is not more Europe vs Russia as it is Europe who has the most to lose with Russia on its doorstep, but as usual, has relied on US military and monetary support. Most European nations are siding with Ukraine.

No one really knows the mind of Russia, and what is desired. Is the world, as Pope Francis often suggested, already in a WWIII due to the varied complex conflicts around the world? The situation could get much worse if an agreement is reached without the consent of Ukraine. Czechoslovakia did not consent to the Munich Accords, although they capitulated to follow that decision, and within six months Hitler invaded the Czech portions of the country. Starting in September 1939 Hitler invaded Poland, then France, Belgium, Netherlands and more. The invasion of Poland is considered the start of WWII when the allies realized they were required to band together to stop the German aggression. The Munich Accords led to WWII. Perhaps due to hubris, world leaders often fail to realize the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences from a deal that excludes the invaded party. An poor agreement could result in more and greater conflicts. Where will NATO take a stand if Putin decides to move into the Baltic region, or perhaps Central Europe?

Hopefully, Trump understands that history rhymes, and he does not repeat the mistake of Neville Chamberlain in 1938, if not he may well be remembered as the next Neville Chamberlain. 

The Cloud

Storm clouds gathered quickly and appeared overhead obscuring a blue sky that once held promise of a beautiful day. Signs of nature are often used as a metaphor for life. Today, when clouds are discussed, it is often not in relation to weather, but to "using the cloud" for your data. The use of such terms, "storing data in the cloud" often obscures the actual facilities behind the whole term. Data, is not stored in some obscure location, like a cloud, but rather in a data center.  Due to artificial intelligence, data centers are becoming more and more common place. The storm clouds gathering overhead are the metaphor for the environmental costs associated with data centers.

Fitchburg, WI Data Center

Language is important as it provides a true description. Use of "the cloud" is not unlike the use of "solar farms" both seem to represent something innocuous, but in fact have true impacts. (To me, solar farms and the cloud are misnomers.) Solar farms are power producing facilities, not farms. They, are very land intensive, and rather than doing the smart thing, using rooftops, over parking lots, or as they do in Japan--over detention ponds, in the United States good farm land is used. Data centers are land extensive, too. As a nation we tend to think land is abundant, which leads to significant land use issues, mainly urban sprawl. The whole idea of "cloud computing" leads to more resource use, in a time when we should be concerned about climate change.

Buildings near Fitchburg Data Center

At least four major data centers are in-line for the state of Wisconsin, according to a Google search, which presented itself as using AI (see below). 

Proposed Data Centers in WI, July 2025

The table above is self explanatory. The missing element is how many square feet the build out of the data centers will be, from which we could calculate efficiency of land use using the common Floor Area Ratio. Although, data centers are composed of servers which can stack high, but for some reason, they do not go more vertical. When doing economic development, the number of jobs produced is often looked at. The DeForest site anticipates 425 people to work there, but that works out to less than one person per acre. I suspect that the some  Community Supported Agricultural centers have more jobs per acre, at least seasonally, than will that data center, but they are not as fashionable as data centers.  Clearly, they should not get funding for so few jobs given how much acreage is used. Data Centers do not need many people, just a few per shift to make sure the servers function properly.

Do data centers represent storm clouds brewing over 
Wisconsin farmland?

Data centers, or server farms (as they are sometimes called), may not be large employers, but they do use generous amounts of two critical resources--water and electricity. Here is the rub, the data centers produce significant amounts of heat, and require cooling every day of the year, every hour of the day, or as the old worn saying goes 24/7. Regardless of how cold it is in Wisconsin on that January night the data center is still cooled. Most are cooled using water. The data center in Fitchburg is an extremely heavy water user. The proposed center in Port Washington is proposed to use air cooling in a closed loop system, but whether or not they will is still a question.

The University of Notre Dame has its own data center and it heats a joint greenhouse operated by it and the City of South Bend, as a method to use the waste heat. I proposed that for the Fitchburg facility but was shot down and the then mayor gave no backing, lest we do something the business did not want to do. The Fitchburg center is in a business park, and the adjoining buildings could easily be heated. The reason they said, was security as a proposed tier 4 data center. Well, that was a lie, because they are a tier 3, under which it could have been done. Just an excuse, or a bait and switch.

What they all use, regardless of how they are cooled, is electricity. Tons and tons (or Kilowatt hour upon kilowatt hour) of electricity which makes the power company very happy--high energy user. They also require backup generation, which means either diesel or natural gas powered generators, almost combustion turbines. This means high energy use and a lot of noise. The Fitchburg data center partnered with MGE which allows MGE to use their generators for peak hours when extra electric generation is required. My wife and I subscribe to SmartHours through Alliant (MGE is the Fitchburg data center provider), which allows them to turn our air up, or heat down when a peak event occurs. Last week we had at least three such events from 4 to 6 pm. It makes me wonder why we try to conserver when data centers clearly chose not to use cogeneration to heat adjoining buildings. The company building the Port Washington facility has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030. I am not sure how they will make that happen. 

Cooling towers, you can see the fans
Large generators, are rectangles south of building

But, beyond water and electricity, they could build better--build in existing urban sites that have been abandoned, think the former GM Janesville Assembly Plant. They could build in disadvantaged communities to add tax base, think Detroit or Northeast Wisconsin. Yet, the rich communities keep getting more rich. A letter to the editor in the Wi State Journal suggested the centers use the land of the old two year UW system campuses that are closing. They will not produce much employment per acre, which raises the question of efficiency. Data centers, in my mind, do not get high marks for efficiency of resources, land use or employment. We have to get away from the idea that our land is an unlimited resource. 

Former GM Assembly Plant site, Janesville, WI

There is a certain irony here, that in a time when we should be conserving resources due to climate change, artificial intelligence is demanding so many important resources in the form of data centers. Four large data centers and that is just in Wisconsin at this point in time. I wonder if there will develop a glut of data centers as the anticipated demand does not materialize.

With good land use decisions, data centers could
represent a clearing of sky following a storm

At least the data centers are in the US, one of the places which has the high demand. Too often the US externalizes its demand for materials--cobalt for batteries in African mines, or copper in South American mines. Green is more than clean energy. It is wise and appropriate efficient land use. It is choosing careful building materials, it is reuse, reduce and recycle. It is being cognizant of what is used. What we have to realize is that storm clouds are approaching in the form of data centers, which with better land use, air cooling, and renewable power could perhaps become cirrus clouds. The "cloud" is a figure of speech that white (or green washes) the impact. We need to be cognizant of the impacts of "the cloud!"

Images from Google Maps, Google and DCI Map