I know this sounds crazy but most days our thermostat is at 16 and we have a space heater just for the sitting room to bump it up a few degrees. Saves loads on the heating oil bill.

- Not outlawing crypto mining. What a complete waste of energy and resources.

Yes

Also, AI is not intelligent which is a key element to doing research and academia in general.

If the walls are load bearing and the structure will be occupied by humans then steel reinforcement is not optional. Maybe some locales allow it, but they should not. Not being snarky.

I suppose it depends on whether you’re 100% certain the ground will not shake violently over the next 1000 years.