Happy Halloweekend and fall back to all who celebrate. The Relay crew is going to be leaning way in with the costumes, and we hope you’ll be joining us. The days continue to shorten, the holidays quickly approach. Tennessee completely skipped the cooler weather so we’re grateful to be in New York over the next few weekends.
It’s also moving season for some of you and for some of us. Wishing you and your movers all the best. May your evenings be scary and your mornings be light.
Thanks for kicking off your spooky weekend with Relay. See you next week.
There are certain RULES that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie. For instance, number one: you can never have sex.
— Randy, Scream
So bright the flames burned in our hearts that we found each other in the dark
— Dallas Green
Top of Mind
Thoughts on the AI buildout, (Dwarkesh)
For the last two decades, datacenter construction basically co-opted the power infrastructure left over from US deindustrialization. One person we talked to in the industry said that until recently, every single data center had a story.
Carcases of American deindustrialization are largely the fuel to the fire that is data center build out and I (Zach) think that is fucking awesome. Paint factories, automotive plants, appliance depots were laid barren with American deindustrialization; it was cheaper to manufacture hard goods overseas and globalism swept the term American Made out the door. This exodus left empty shells with large enough footprints scattered across the country prime for reuse. For decades these sat dormant, until the free markets found the perfect use for them.
The latest Dwarkesh article out on AI buildout is a deep dive into AI CapEx, the layers in the cake necessary to build data centers, and the geopolitical rivalries which drive competition. It’s a dense read, similar to his podcast, however its a comprehensive look at what could happen with regards to company spending over the next year.
No rap songs in Billboard Top 40 for first time since 1990, (Rollingstone)
For the first time since 1990, the Top 40 on the Hot 100 doesn’t contain a single rap song. The space is occupied, instead, by the entirety of Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl — now in its third week — as well as hits from Morgan Wallen, Olivia Dean, Kehlani, and Alex Warren, whose single “Ordinary” has spent 37 weeks on the chart.
RIP Kendrick and SZA. Relay’s not following Billboard’s Top 40 very closely, but this felt like a good excuse to mention Lily Allen’s album. Depending on what side of Twitter, Substack, or TikTok you’re on, you’ve either seen far too much about this or know nothing. West End Girl could have broken monoculture with one very specific song — and I (Ian) have had it on repeat all week. Rap is out, and affair tell-alls are in.
ICYMI: Happy Hour Edition
While we weren’t overly interested in the Grokipedia release, albeit an interesting idea, what is cool is Elon’s mention of copying it and depositing it in space.
More Elon content for you. As you may know, 3/4 of Relay are current Nashville residents, and The Boring Company has broken ground on a tunnel system to link downtown to the airport to cure our cursed traffic woes. Apparently they "skirted city approval”, we don’t know.
That’s exactly my job: being with the I.C.U. nurse in Tampa, or being with the submarine industrial parts manufacturer in New Hampshire. Well, when you see it intersect the frontline, it’s actually empowering the worker to do more. The nurse spends less time collating clinical notes, more time by the bedside of the patient. The submarine parts manufacturer spends less time looking at and analyzing change orders and replanning the work, more time building the parts that actually move the enterprise forward. So there’s a much more subtle reality that is positive and empowering. - Shyam Sankar
What Palantir Sees (NYT Gift Link)
Best of Substack this Week
10 thoughts from Tolstoy
– Cole Calfee (Cole is also a talented artist, a Relay favorite, and fellow local Tennessean)
This Week in Relay’s Shopping Cart
Curated Supply, (Jack)
If you’re looking to splurge, or just spend a while enjoying a well-designed, interesting website, this was an interesting one we stumbled across this week. We’ll be adding a few 911 Turbo S’s to the cart this week (in all honesty, the lego 911 is going to make a killer desk item). Keep you posted.
Toyota IMV Origin, (Ian)
Slate Auto is cooked if we get a few of these in the states. Imagine dropping your kids off at school with this little weapon.
Cotton/Canvas Cap, SACAI X Carhartt WIP (James)
I’m back with yet another edition of “how much is too much to spend on a hat?” It’s definitely too much, this one will be staying in the cart.
It’s Not That Deep, Randy
Thanks for reading—or for mega scrolling all the way down here.
The internet is an overwhelming mess of headlines, ads, and mid takes from the worst people you know. Big Tech owns our attention spans. Everything is content. Nothing makes sense.
We’re not here to “fix discourse” or “build a better internet.” Relay is just our attempt to riff on what we’re already talking about at happy hour without feeling like we’ve been hit by a content truck. Some analysis, some memes, call it a day.
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no mention of sydney sweeney?
i’m excited for ai to take my job