Loren Steffy
@lorensteffy.bsky.social
Author, publisher, writer-at-large for Texas Monthly, recovering from daily journalism but prone to frequent relapses.
I'm not much of a professional soccer fan, but this could turn me into one. I was fortunate to get to go to the Faroes recently. It's an amazing place.
In the Faroe Islands’ Soccer Team, the Players Also Have Day Jobs
The Faroe Islands, rugged green specks in the North Atlantic, are an underdog. Most of the guys on the team have day jobs.
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:16 PM
I'm not much of a professional soccer fan, but this could turn me into one. I was fortunate to get to go to the Faroes recently. It's an amazing place.
Will things finally come together for nuclear fusion? Check out Part II of "Power Players" for my take in the latest issue of Texas Law. https://law.utexas.edu/magazine/2025/11/05/power-players/ #energy #nuclearpower #fusion
Power Players
Meet the lawyers who are fueling an abundant energy future for Texas—and the whole world.
law.utexas.edu
November 13, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Will things finally come together for nuclear fusion? Check out Part II of "Power Players" for my take in the latest issue of Texas Law. https://law.utexas.edu/magazine/2025/11/05/power-players/ #energy #nuclearpower #fusion
I'll be signing books, hanging out and wandering about the Texas Book Festival all weekend. Look for me at the @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social table in the @tamupress.bsky.social tent. Lots of other great Stoney Creek authors will be there too. #texasauthors #booksky #newbooks
November 7, 2025 at 6:16 PM
I'll be signing books, hanging out and wandering about the Texas Book Festival all weekend. Look for me at the @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social table in the @tamupress.bsky.social tent. Lots of other great Stoney Creek authors will be there too. #texasauthors #booksky #newbooks
Back on the old pixels of Chron.com for piece on Cheney's lingering Halliburton legacy. Dug out some 20+year old interview notes.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/dick-cheney-houston-halliburton-legacy-21140724.php #cheney #halliburton #politics
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/dick-cheney-houston-halliburton-legacy-21140724.php #cheney #halliburton #politics
Dick Cheney’s Halliburton years reshaped Houston’s business landscape
For many in Houston’s business world, Dick Cheney will be remembered less for his time in the White House than for the years he spent at the helm of Halliburton.
www.houstonchronicle.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Back on the old pixels of Chron.com for piece on Cheney's lingering Halliburton legacy. Dug out some 20+year old interview notes.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/dick-cheney-houston-halliburton-legacy-21140724.php #cheney #halliburton #politics
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/dick-cheney-houston-halliburton-legacy-21140724.php #cheney #halliburton #politics
What do new incentives for coal mean for Texas' janky utility grid? My discussion on @houstonmatters.bsky.socialhttps://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2025/10/09/532805/bodies-in-the-bayous-oct-9-2025/ @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social @craigcohen.bsky.social
Bodies in the bayous (Oct. 9, 2025) | Houston Public Media
On Thursday's show: We learn what law enforcement has to say about the frequency in which human remains are found in the city's bayous. And we examine what renewed efforts to ramp up coal production might mean for the energy industry here in Texas.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
October 10, 2025 at 2:07 PM
What do new incentives for coal mean for Texas' janky utility grid? My discussion on @houstonmatters.bsky.socialhttps://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2025/10/09/532805/bodies-in-the-bayous-oct-9-2025/ @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social @craigcohen.bsky.social
Tech companies are moving in and sucking up all the water in drought-plagued West Texas? It sounds like something out of a novel...https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/texas-data-center-water-use/ #TheBigEmpty #booksky #drought #tech @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
Data centers are thirsty for Texas’ water, but state planners don’t know how much they will need
A wave of massive data centers is expanding across Texas, prompting warnings from experts who say the new water demands could push the state’s already strained supply to the brink.
www.texastribune.org
September 26, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Tech companies are moving in and sucking up all the water in drought-plagued West Texas? It sounds like something out of a novel...https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/25/texas-data-center-water-use/ #TheBigEmpty #booksky #drought #tech @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
So... Enron was a real company that failed, came back as satirical performance art, tried to become a real company, and failed again.
How an Enron Parody Turned Into a Financial Mess of Its Own
Some performance artists bought the name for peanuts and concocted an elaborate caricature of corporate excess. It didn’t go as they planned.
www.bloomberg.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:56 PM
So... Enron was a real company that failed, came back as satirical performance art, tried to become a real company, and failed again.
Our legislator's ability to find new ways to mess up our electricity markets is truly astounding. At this point, what's another $7 billion? https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/26/texas-energy-fund-natural-gas-power-plants/ #ercot #texasgrid #electricity #infrastructure.
Texas’ $7.2 billion loan program for gas power plants has approved two projects in two years
Experts say the Texas Energy Fund is facing an energy market that makes new power plants more expensive and less profitable.
www.texastribune.org
August 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Our legislator's ability to find new ways to mess up our electricity markets is truly astounding. At this point, what's another $7 billion? https://www.texastribune.org/2025/08/26/texas-energy-fund-natural-gas-power-plants/ #ercot #texasgrid #electricity #infrastructure.
I love stories about offbeat economic indicators, like this one about declining box sales as a barometer for consumer spending.
What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy
Box demand touches nearly every industry, from flat-screen TVs to packaged food, all of which see sales fluctuate based on how flush shoppers feel.
www.bloomberg.com
August 26, 2025 at 2:06 PM
I love stories about offbeat economic indicators, like this one about declining box sales as a barometer for consumer spending.
Texas windbreakers: I discuss what recent federal changes mean for Texas energy on @houstonmatters.bsky.socialat 7:07 https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2025/08/14/528286/spending-federal-recovery-funds-aug-14-2025/ #windpower #renewables #environment
Spending federal recovery funds (Aug. 14, 2025) | Houston Public Media
On Thursday's show: Houston City Council has approved spending plans for $315 million in federal recovery funds, going against an initial proposal from the mayor. We find out what that money will be spent on. And we learn what recent comments from President Trump could mean for the future of wind energy in Texas.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
August 19, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Texas windbreakers: I discuss what recent federal changes mean for Texas energy on @houstonmatters.bsky.socialat 7:07 https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2025/08/14/528286/spending-federal-recovery-funds-aug-14-2025/ #windpower #renewables #environment
Just did my first video interview for radio. [Insert "great face for radio joke here.] @houstonmatters.bsky.social
August 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Just did my first video interview for radio. [Insert "great face for radio joke here.] @houstonmatters.bsky.social
Why impartial economic data matters https://open.substack.com/pub/wordmines/p/the-numbers-we-need?r=1cyd76&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #economy #Trump #unemployment
The numbers we need
Political interference will hurt our economy at a time when we can least afford it
open.substack.com
August 13, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Why impartial economic data matters https://open.substack.com/pub/wordmines/p/the-numbers-we-need?r=1cyd76&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #economy #Trump #unemployment
What does a lost story of a crooked tree have to do with Father's Day? https://open.substack.com/pub/wordmines/p/the-crooked-tree-and-me-a-fathers?r=1cyd76&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #FathersDay #books #shipwrecks #booksky
The crooked tree and me — a Father's Day memory
My favorite book is one that you've never read — and never will. It changed my life.
open.substack.com
June 15, 2025 at 2:43 PM
What does a lost story of a crooked tree have to do with Father's Day? https://open.substack.com/pub/wordmines/p/the-crooked-tree-and-me-a-fathers?r=1cyd76&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #FathersDay #books #shipwrecks #booksky
This is pretty cool. My book about my dad's amazing journey from electrician to ancient ship reconstructor is the Texas A&M Libraries' Book of the Month selection. www.linkedin.com/posts/tamuli...
Richard Steffy was an electrician in a landlocked Pennsylvania town who… | TAMULibraries
Richard Steffy was an electrician in a landlocked Pennsylvania town who held no advanced degrees, yet he became a pioneer in the study of ancient shipwrecks — the first person ever to reconstruct an a...
www.linkedin.com
April 17, 2025 at 10:02 PM
This is pretty cool. My book about my dad's amazing journey from electrician to ancient ship reconstructor is the Texas A&M Libraries' Book of the Month selection. www.linkedin.com/posts/tamuli...
Open for business at the TSHA annual conference in Houston!
February 27, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Open for business at the TSHA annual conference in Houston!
What better way to celebrate Texas Independence Day than to host a discussion @bookpeople.bsky.social about Jack Woodville London's wonderful new book, Dangerous Latitudes, a spy thriller set in the days of the Republic of Texas. Hope you can join us! #texas #atx #atxevents #books #history
January 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
What better way to celebrate Texas Independence Day than to host a discussion @bookpeople.bsky.social about Jack Woodville London's wonderful new book, Dangerous Latitudes, a spy thriller set in the days of the Republic of Texas. Hope you can join us! #texas #atx #atxevents #books #history
I discuss mergers with @houstonmatters.bsky.social starting at 9;13. https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/houston-matters/2025/01/13/509641/previewing-the-legislature-jan-13-2025/
#mergers #energy #layoffs #jobs #economy @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
#mergers #energy #layoffs #jobs #economy @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
Previewing the legislature (Jan. 13, 2025) | Houston Public Media
On Monday's show: The 89th regular session of the Texas Legislature begins tomorrow. We preview some of the issues and bills that will take center stage.
www.houstonpublicmedia.org
January 14, 2025 at 3:26 PM
“This is going to raise the cost of goods in a lot of different ways.” I discuss tariffs, mass deportation & Texas with @texasstandard.bsky.social. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/trump-tariffs-mexico-canada-texas-economy-prices/ #tariffs #deportation #immigration @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
What could tariffs on Mexico and Canada mean for Texas’ economy and consumers?
President-elect Trump has announced plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods from the two countries.
www.texasstandard.org
January 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
“This is going to raise the cost of goods in a lot of different ways.” I discuss tariffs, mass deportation & Texas with @texasstandard.bsky.social. https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/trump-tariffs-mexico-canada-texas-economy-prices/ #tariffs #deportation #immigration @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
Trump's policies of tariffs and mass deportations may kneecap two key legs of the state’s robust economy: low taxes and cheap, abundant labor. Why aren't state officials or business leaders speaking up? www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
#tariffs #economy #TexasMiracle
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
#tariffs #economy #TexasMiracle
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
Trump’s Tariffs Could Upend the “Texas Miracle”
If the president-elect follows through on his campaign promises, disruptions in trade with Mexico and Canada would hit businesses and workers in the Lone Star State especially hard.
www.texasmonthly.com
December 16, 2024 at 9:01 PM
Trump's policies of tariffs and mass deportations may kneecap two key legs of the state’s robust economy: low taxes and cheap, abundant labor. Why aren't state officials or business leaders speaking up? www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...
#tariffs #economy #TexasMiracle
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
#tariffs #economy #TexasMiracle
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
The Texas Department of Insurance recorded a 21% jump in statewide rates last year, the biggest annual spike in at least a decade. In the last five years, rates in Texas have risen faster than anywhere else in the country. www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/hom... @houstonchronicle.com
‘Never experienced anything like this:’ The new reality of insuring a Texas home
Texas homeowners are struggling to keep their homes insured, paying more for less coverage as climate change wreaks havoc on providers.
www.houstonchronicle.com
December 5, 2024 at 1:12 PM
The Texas Department of Insurance recorded a 21% jump in statewide rates last year, the biggest annual spike in at least a decade. In the last five years, rates in Texas have risen faster than anywhere else in the country. www.houstonchronicle.com/projects/hom... @houstonchronicle.com
The grid problems are so bad in Texas it’s inspiring poetry. I recently received a dystopian novel submission based on the premise of a total grid collapse in Texas. Has electrical infrastructure ever inspired literary angst before?
I am here on the cold tiled floor with my son
who is stripped down to his diaper.
He is learning how to crawl, how to move
in this great big world. Together, we feel
how cool air falls, how the hot air of the morning rises ...
who is stripped down to his diaper.
He is learning how to crawl, how to move
in this great big world. Together, we feel
how cool air falls, how the hot air of the morning rises ...
Poem: To the CEO of Centerpoint Energy, Who Smirks Next to a Thermostat that Reads 70 Degrees
I am here on the cold tiled floor with my son...
www.texasobserver.org
November 30, 2024 at 2:43 PM
The grid problems are so bad in Texas it’s inspiring poetry. I recently received a dystopian novel submission based on the premise of a total grid collapse in Texas. Has electrical infrastructure ever inspired literary angst before?
Reposted by Loren Steffy
I am here on the cold tiled floor with my son
who is stripped down to his diaper.
He is learning how to crawl, how to move
in this great big world. Together, we feel
how cool air falls, how the hot air of the morning rises ...
who is stripped down to his diaper.
He is learning how to crawl, how to move
in this great big world. Together, we feel
how cool air falls, how the hot air of the morning rises ...
Poem: To the CEO of Centerpoint Energy, Who Smirks Next to a Thermostat that Reads 70 Degrees
I am here on the cold tiled floor with my son...
www.texasobserver.org
November 29, 2024 at 7:10 PM
I am here on the cold tiled floor with my son
who is stripped down to his diaper.
He is learning how to crawl, how to move
in this great big world. Together, we feel
how cool air falls, how the hot air of the morning rises ...
who is stripped down to his diaper.
He is learning how to crawl, how to move
in this great big world. Together, we feel
how cool air falls, how the hot air of the morning rises ...
This is not an easy book to read, but it’s important. I felt privileged to be a peer reviewer for it & pleased to see it’s available. It shows the devastating impact of school shootings on communities & how trauma lingers www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/b... #booksky @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
How Uvalde’s Newspaper Kept Going, Despite Unimaginable Loss
Craig Garnett, the publisher of The Uvalde Leader-News, opens up about covering a tragedy that was — and is — too close to home.
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2024 at 10:36 PM
This is not an easy book to read, but it’s important. I felt privileged to be a peer reviewer for it & pleased to see it’s available. It shows the devastating impact of school shootings on communities & how trauma lingers www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/b... #booksky @stoneycreekbooks.bsky.social
Reflections of a College Stationary…
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
An Ode to Aggieland
The College Station of my youth has been transformed, and it’s better positioned than ever to compete with Austin.
www.texasmonthly.com
November 21, 2024 at 8:57 PM
Reflections of a College Stationary…
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...
www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...