A Data Center in Space, The Best Construction Jokes Ever, and More

Thursday, May 14th, 2026

Good morning! Welcome to The Tradesman, a 5-minute newsletter tailored just for America’s tradesmen.

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another gas card giveaway!

Click here to enter, and we’ll announce the winner on Tuesday!

Google announced Tuesday it is in talks with SpaceX about a potential partnership to launch orbital data centers — satellites equipped with AI processors that would orbit the Earth.

Data centers have become one of the hottest commodities in the country. Still, opposition to ground-based facilities has been growing as communities push back on noise, water use, and power demands.

Google and SpaceX believe putting data centers in orbit could sidestep those concerns entirely.

Click here to learn how this is possible.

LEGO just announced its new Minas Tirith set, an 8,278-piece model of the iconic fortress from The Lord of the Rings, making it the largest LEGO Lord of the Rings set ever built and surpassing the beloved Rivendell set by more than 2,000 pieces.

It might be the coolest LEGO build we have seen in a long time. Will the $649.99 price tag cost you a second mortgage and an uncomfortable conversation with your spouse about whether LEGO is "just a kid's toy"? Probably. Worth it anyway.

See the pictures of this epic LEGO set here.

We've all been there. You worked late on the job site, so you don't walk through the door until 6:00. The kids need to be fed, the dishes need to be done, and by the time the house is quiet, the only thing either of you has energy for is a pillow. The last real conversation you had with your wife didn't involve dirty diapers or somebody's bad knee — and you honestly can't remember when that was.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Life gets loud. But somewhere between the job site and the bedtime routine, there's still the person you married — and she's probably just as ready for a night that's actually about the two of you.

Click here for 25 date ideas for the insanely busy parents.

Every job site has one — the guy who can make a crew laugh at 6 a.m. with nothing but bad timing and a worse punchline. You know exactly who he is. You've probably been standing next to him, wishing you were him.

Well, now you can be.

There’s always at least one guy on the job site who never fails to make everyone laugh.

Have you ever looked at him and thought, “I wish that were me?”

Well, now it can be thanks to this list of the 10 Best Construction Jokes. Fair warning: they're actually terrible. That's what makes them perfect.

Do you believe in aliens?