Did a little more research on the Flash Drive prices and probably should have already known this but I’ve been a bit sidelined taking care of Family here.

The large and accelerating growth in AI Data Centers is sucking up the entire world production of memory circuits which is leading to a shortage in the consumer market and higher prices due to to demand. So far Consumer Flash drives have about doubled in price from just a month or so ago. Projections are that could last through this year and possibly next year as well.

So at least for now I’m not buying any more Flash Drives for the Library copies. The good news is that the price of the smaller capacity hard drives like the 2.5″ 320gb drives I use have not dramatically increased in price and can still be found at reasonable prices.

Only tricky part is at this point the U.S. supply is drying up and you have to order them to be shipped from manufacturing centers in China where Toshiba expanded much of their production over the last year or two. That of course comes with about a 3-4 week delivery time.

So for now I’ll continue to make Library copies available in Hard drive only since I sent out my last Flash Drive this morning. I removed the Book of the Farm/Flash Drive combo but will be reposting it later today as a Book of the Farm/Hard Drive combination.

Also working on a new book to print and bind. It’s the Old Doctor Carlin’s Recipes 1881. The digitized copies I’ve been able to find are reasonable quality but the backgrounds of the pages are so discolored as to make direct printing really difficult to read. I’m dumping it to image format then doing what I did with Book of the Farm and cleaning it up page by page as I have the time. Since it’s not as big nor quite as bad as some of the BotF copies it shouldn’t take too long to get it cleaned and ready to print.

The Librarian

I am down to just a couple more Flash Drives on the shelf so as usual I went online to order some more to avoid running out. I was shocked to see that Flash drive prices have basically doubled since the last time I ordered some just a few weeks ago.

I know some Hard Drive companies are running 24/7 shifts and are essentially sold out through 2027 due to the massive increase in demand driven by the expansion of AI data centers. I’m not sure if that has affected Flash Drives prices or whether there is some other factor at play.

But bottom line is once these Flash Drives I have on the shelf are gone I won’t be buying anymore until the prices go back to a normal level. Hard Drives I’m able to find at normal prices and I ordered some more of those this morning.

Once the existing stock of Flash Drives is gone I’ll be limited to the Hard Drive copies of the Library until the Flash Drive market stabilizes.

The Librarian

Thanks to Michael P. who suggested I add a file with a full list of books in it. He emailed me a week or so ago and suggested it and I said I’d look into doing that then forgot when I got distracted by tasks around home.

He kindly took it upon himself to compile the list and send it to me. I added it to the Library and added a link to it on the Main Index Page which lists all the Categories.

It’s a simple CSV file with Category, Title and Size columns that should load into any spreadsheet program. It’s currently sorted by Category and then Title.

Thanks Michael.

The Librarian

I enjoy reading Ward Clark’s writings and I especially liked this one. He’s writing about new Science making it more likely to be able to predict a serious Solar Storm and CME.

He reports that the main period of vulnerability is mid-2025 through mid-2026 and early 2027.

He mentions the possible effects of a Carrington Event level storm and it’s destruction of the power grid. What I particularly liked is his characterization of it as taking the world back to the 1850s and then saying:

“The problem is that we’d still have our 2026 population, most of whom lack the necessary skills to survive in a world set at 1850. You’re talking about a major societal collapse, mass starvation, and deaths possibly in the billions.”

https://redstate.com/wardclark/2026/02/18/can-we-now-predict-dangerous-solar-storms-n2199312

The Librarian

This is actually kind of a good article. Not good in the sense that it once more points out the appalling fragility of the U.S. Power Grid and just how easily it can be damaged or even destroyed. potentially killing Millions.

But good in the sense that this is a fairly mainstream source and that the subject is becoming more and more commonly mentioned in the News and other discussions.

Maybe one of these days someone will take it seriously and actually DO SOMETHING about it. Not holding my breath though.

https://townhall.com/columnists/pauldriessen/2026/02/14/can-the-us-grid-handle-the-next-winter-storm-fern-or-major-solar-flares-n2671313

The Librarian

Hefty X-8.1 Class Flare yesterday evening. Caused some radio blackouts in South America and the Southern Atlantic. There has been a bunch of CME ejections but NOAA is still not sure where they’re headed. Might be toward Earth but still unknown.

An X8 is not really strong enough to do any significant damage. Could possibly trip a few grid breakers if it hits Earth squarely but even that is just a possibility.

Still this one huge sunspot  threw off 20+ M Class Flares and 4 X Class Flares yesterday. It’s almost guaranteed to keep showing off today. Since it’s just starting to swing across the face of the Sun to face us it bears watching. I suggest checking spaceweather.com periodically during the day to see what it’s going to produce today (Monday).

The Librarian

Ran across another story on just how fragile the national power grid is and thought I’d post it. Folks like these keep on warning the government and the utilities and no one seems to be making even a pretense of dealing with it.

They have, finally, started abandoning the Green Energy Scam and stopping the shut down of Actual power plants using Gas and Coal so the SUPPLY issue at least is being address. There is even a significant push for a renewal of the Nuclear Power Industry though that is measured in decades where as coal and gas plants can be built in a year or two.

But even if they do significantly increase real power generation capability the grid itself won’t handle the increase in demand. Certainly not with all the Data Center Power Black Holes they want to build.

All we can do it hope. But as an instructor once told me “Hope is not a Strategy.”

https://townhall.com/columnists/sarah-montalbano/2026/02/01/grid-monitor-warns-of-blackouts-that-utilities-can-still-prevent-n2670441

The Librarian

Woke up this morning to over a foot of snow outside. Looks like about 13-14 inches on flat surface away from the house.

I am officially Impressed. Cat traipsed all over the porch in 3-4 inch snow looking for a way to get down to go chase and kill things. Instead he’s walking around the house yelling his head off to express his disapproval and demand that someone FIX it.

So not going anywhere anytime soon. If it’s this deep here I can imagine further inland. Now for the Deer and Crows

Stay Safe.

The Librarian