Rusted Sky

It's time to find some fresher oil. (Okay, it's a stretch - but not quite as stretched as this drill string!)

BP announces `giant' oil find in Gulf of Mexico - Yahoo! Finance

LONDON (AP) -- BP PLC said Wednesday that it had made a "giant" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico but had not yet determined the size and commercial potential of the find.

The well, in Keathley Canyon block 102 about 250 miles (400 kms) southeast of Houston, is in 4,132 feet (1,259 meters) of water, the company said.

The Tiber well was drilled to a total depth of 35,055 feet (10,685 meters), making it one of the deepest wells ever drilled by the oil and gas industry, BP said.

BP has a 62 percent interest in Tiber, while Petrobras holds 20 percent and ConocoPhillips has 18 percent.

BP shares were up 1.9 percent at 529.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange.

A total depth of 10,685 meters, divided by 28 is 381 and a fraction.

That's a lot of pipe, and a lot of work moving things up or down.

Add in the fact that they're drilling in 4,000 feet of water.... and you're talking about a feat that would have been in the record books twenty years back.

Now, one of the interesting things about this is that about seven years back I was blogging on this subject. (Ancient History Here...) but stopped because there were no new stories that made it above the background news clutter. (Yeah, not like there's been anything ELSE going on, eh?)

So, without further ado, here's bits and pieces about what I was posting then.

Deep petroleum and the non

In recent years, evidence of hydrocarbons in asteroids and comets has continued to accumulate. In the non-organic framework, these petroliferous asteroids/comets are the progenitors of the Earths oil. Hence, the occurrence of primordial petroleum in large quantities is expected. In this light, the recent discoveries of hydrocarbon ice on objects in the Kuiper belt, a band of objects just beyond the orbit of Neptune, is an indication of the substantial amounts of extraterrestrial hydrocarbons4.
In fact, with these large quantities of hydrocarbon having been dumped on the Earth during its formation, the question is reversed. If the petroleum on the Earth is entirely of an organic origin why has all this primordial hydrocarbon only been a silent spectator?

Unfortunately, a lot of the links have 404'ed. Fortunately, the Internet Archive (Archive.Org) still has them. And here's the paper that really sparked my interest....

The Origin of Methane (and Oil) in the Crust of the Earth

Abstract

The deposits of hydrocarbons in the crust of the Earth have long been regarded by many investigators as deriving from materials incorporated in the mantle at the time of the Earth's formation. Outgassing processes, active in all geological epochs, then transported the liquids and gases liberated there into porous rocks of the crust. The alternative viewpoint, that biological debris was the source material for all crustal hydrocarbons, gained widespread acceptance when molecules of clearly biological origin were found to be present in most commercial crude oils.
Modern information re-directs attention to the theories of a non-biological, primeval origin. Among this information is the prominence of hydrocarbons—gases, liquids and solids—on many other bodies of the solar system, as well as in interstellar space. Advances in high-pressure thermodynamics have shown that the pressure-temperature regime of the Earth would allow hydrocarbon molecules to be formed and to survive between the surface and a depth of 100 to 300 km. Outgassing from such depth would bring up other gases present in trace amounts in the rocks, thus accounting for the well known association of hydrocarbons with helium. Recent discoveries of the widespread presence of bacterial life at depth point to this as the origin of the biological content of petroleum.

J.

Pretty much none I'd dare put here.

Report: AFL-CIO Pushes Tax on All Stock Transactions - Political News - FOXNews.com

After the federal government put up hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Wall Street, the largest labor union in America wants those firms to return the favor.

The AFL-CIO reportedly is promoting a proposal to tax every single stock transaction, and it's gained some support among Democrats.

According to The Hill, the tiny tax would be about a tenth of a percent -- but it could mean a lot of money for companies, like Goldman Sachs, that are making billions and conducting a high volume of trades.

And now these (deleted) (deleted) (deleted) (deleted) idiots want to (deleted) INCREASE the (deleted) bite?

Since when does the (deleted) (deleted) AFL-CIO set the (deleted) (deleted) TAX policy in this country?

Boy, this really irks me. And I don't even have that much of a dog in the fight!

J.

Hey, it's Labor Day weekend, and a certain museum in Pensacola is calling the little guy's name - what can I say?

ROAD TRIP! WOO-HOO!

Check out:

www.instapundit.com
www.nextbigfuture.com
www.io9.com
www.wattupwiththat.com
www.metafilter.com
www.reclusiveleftist.com
www.wizbangblog.com
ace.mu.nu
gatewaypundit.blogspot.com

See anything interesting - let me know!

J.

Road trip, right? Drive down to Gulf Shores, relax on the beach, hit the Naval Air Museum, drive back. Eat plenty of junk food, have fun with the little guy.

We're back early. Mother fell, bashed her hip and head - got transported to the local hospital. There was a voicemail on the cell Sat. night on that after a day at the museum and an evening at the pool. Thought about driving back that night, but I didn't think it'd be safe, so we got what sleep we could. 6:45 hit, and the phone rang. Mother had been transported to Emory for scans, there was some bleeding in her head, and it looked like there was a crack in her pelvis. Thankfully her hip joint was okay, but she was in the ICU there.

We loaded the car, got on the road by about 7 or so - ended up in Atlanta about 2:30. Mother wasn't really coherent - she was drifting in and out. We took Father home, and unloaded the car...

Now it's a waiting game. The doctor thinks he might be able to get her out of the ICU today, to a regular room. We'll see.

J.

Okay, here's what's going on.

Mother fell - we're not quite sure why. She apparently hit her head, causing some bleeding. She was in and out of it on Sunday, and Monday she was apparently stable enough to be moved to a regular room. (Right next to the epilepsy observation wing, oddly enough. But then, there was head trauma...)

When we got down here yesterday, she was awake and alert... kind of. The best way I can describe it is a CPU running at about one tenth clock speed. You'd talk to her, and there'd be a notable delay while she processed that someone was even speaking to her, and then her head would start to slowly turn. The nurse said it might have been from the morphine she'd been given for the pain - whatever it was, she's not firing on all cylinders at this point. We'll see how things are today.

On the funny side - the little guy got braces yesterday. And suddenly he was 'really cool'. The girls are really interested now.

But he's 11. He finds it kind of creepy...

Heh. Braces make you cool? It wasn't like that in MY day...

J.

I'm switching cubes at work - and cell phone reception (which is spotty right now) is going to become pretty much nonexistant - despite the fact I'm maybe 30 feet away from an outside wall. (Old metal-framed and sided building - what can I say?) ATT cellphones work fine - they've got repeaters all through the plant.

I've already talked to the telecom guys who manage the ATT repeater network here, and there's no plans to add a TMobile signal. So - since I can OCCASIONALLY get a signal, anyone got any suggestions as to what can be done inexpensively (you knew there'd be a catch, right?) to boost the signal?

Thank you!

J.

Census bureau terminates relationship with ACORN; cites 'worsening negative perceptions' | Washington Examiner

In the wake of devastating video reports revealing corruption at local offices of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, the U.S. Census Bureau has cancelled its agreement calling for ACORN to work on the 2010 census.

J.

I wouldn't have much of a problem with Japan getting these...

Senate panel seeks end to F-22 export ban | Politics | Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Senate panel urged the Air Force on Thursday to start developing an export model of its F-22 Raptor, the most advanced U.S. fighter jet, even as it voted to end U.S. purchases.

Japan, Israel and Australia have shown interest in buying the supersonic, radar-evading F-22 Raptor, designed to destroy enemy air defenses in the first days of any conflict and clear the way for other missions.

And frankly, considering the current state of the ME, I'd like to see Israel get the F-22, since I believe before long Iran's going to be a real problem.

I swear, sometimes I believe that our Congresscritters can't see beyond their next election run. Other times, I'm pretty much sure of it.

J.

Well, Mother's still got a cracked pelvis and many bruises, but the hospital's done all it can. She was sent home today. We'll see how long she stays...

Thank you for all your concern and prayers - they've been appreciated greatly...

J.

9/11 came as one hell of a shock to most people. Yes, we knew that there were religious fanatics in Afghanistan, and we knew they hated the US. But that was safely around the world, so there wasn't much of a threat. Even the leaked info on executions of women who were accused of immorality weren't really enough to raise much outrage here in the West - it was a different country, with different ways, and realistically, there was little that could be done.

And we were having our own contentious times as well, thanks to the fun and games in the 2000 Florida election. Was Bush a valid President? (Seeing there was no recount that showed Gore a clear winner, I'd say yes.) What was he going to do about the economy? (A $600 payment seemed to help.) What was he going to do about other countries? (Nationbuilding wasn't on the table.)

Then the planes hit the towers, and the shit hit the fan. We found ourselves in a war we didn't want - and hamstrung by people convinced, utterly and completely convinced, that BUSH engineered the attacks on 9/11 in order to get his bloody hands on Iraqi oil. Maybe not directly - but there was SOMETHING he could have done to stop 19 crazies with a death wish from getting on those planes, cutting throats, and flying them into the towers.

Yeah, and maybe Superman would have been able to stop all 4 planes without losing any lives. But reality is what it IS, not what we would wish it - and let's be honest and admit if the 19 hijackers HAD been stopped preemptively, the left would have been screaming loudly about racial profiling and how unfair it all was and how they were INNOCENT until proven guilty - they couldn't be charged until they did something! At which point it would have been too late anyway...

So Bush became the bad guy. All I'll say about that is that Bush is the most inept conquerer of the 20th/21st Centuries - we took over Iraq, rebuilt it, gave it back, and DIDN'T take over the oil fields. My thinking is that he was more determined to change the mindset of that region, and (no thanks to the limited support from the left) he had a hell of a time but more success than it was originally thought he would have - and a lot more than the left was happy with.

Now, the very theological essence of any radical religion is self-defeating in the long run - aherents WILL leave if they find it stifling, and there's any place to go. The more violent, restrictive, and mysogynistic, the less the people will support it - if there's an alternative. If there isn't one, they'll ... endure. We saw that with the population of Afghanistan under the Taliban.

Our 'interference' in the ME established that there were alternatives to the Taliban-style theocracies and strong-man dictatorships. It remains to be seen how it will all play out (I figure it will actually take the better part of three decades, starting from 9/11) but that area's due for some good luck, and it's possible our short, sharp 'slap' to the face will be good for the entire area in the long run. With Iraq a functioning state now, the surrounding states are going to have a very hard time justifying their repressive governments to the people who are tired of the repression.

Things are changing - and rapidly.

Which brings us to 9/12.

To be honest, most people in this country couldn't care less about politics on either the local or the national levels. They'll turn out for a Presidential election, but most who DO show up for that won't show for anything less. (Try going to your polling place for a local election. The silence is deafening.) They feel safe in ignoring our politicians, knowing that while the pendulum may swing temporarily one way or the other, it'll eventually swing back.

But lately, a lot of people have been feeling the bite from our political class. They're feeling it, looking down, and see Democrats with their teeth in the wallet snarling back "Hey, bud - you got a problem or sump'in?" And yes - they DO. They see people wanting to make sure the pendulum doesn't have a chance to swing back.

And they're tired of being taxed. They're tired of being told they're somehow the bad guys because they pay their mortgages and loans on time - yet never get a break. They understand where the money is coming from for all the fun times that Obama's having bailing out failed businesses - that money's coming out of their wallet. They understand that the health care 'reforms' that Obama's proposing aren't going to produce the desired results for the desired expense - when has ANY major government program come in on time and on budget? - and that the consequences of failure BY the government are going to be dire indeed. And that they're NOT going to have the 'choice' promised by Obama.

They understand that the only way you can spend $10 if you only have $5 is by borrowing the other $5, and that money HAS to be repaid. They understand that the ONLY source of real revenue the government has... is us.

And they've had enough.

So on September 12th - this last Saturday - hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people went for a peaceful demonstration in Washington. Counts vary, with a high of 2 million. (The low end counts, 70k, are transparently ridiculous.) But let's figure it was one million people.

That's a significant number, isn't it? No matter the race, it'd be one hell of a voting block - and it represents a lot larger block - those who are ticked off, but not QUITE mad enough to take a weekend and travel to DC to walk the Mall.

I would have loved to have been there, myself - but other duties called.

Now, in retail sales it's more or less accepted that if you tick off one customer, he'll influence 7 other people to avoid your business. If you take a count of 1 million 'dissatisfied customers' this last weekend, would you consider it fair to estimate that each person represented 7 others who were annoyed, ticked, aggravated, or just plain mad as hell about the Obama policies - but couldn't, didn't, or wouldn't want to go to Washington DC to express it?

Admittedly, it's a stretch. But think about it - the people on 9/12 weren't the usual bussed in rent-a-mob, with preprinted signs and matching t-shirts, doing their sign-waving thing to get $20 and a carton of beer. These were people who travelled to DC on their own dime, on their own time, in order to participate in a demonstration to show that the current crop of politicians have abjectly failed to win THEIR hearts and minds. They've looked down, and know where the governmental teeth are clamped. They're ready to pry the teeth off, and break them.

They've flat-out had ENOUGH. And if the politicians have ticked off enough people for a million of them to spend their own time and money to go register their displeasure - how many more people are just as mad but didn't have the money or time?

Is this a voting block that Obama really wants to tick off?

In a number of ways, this was the Obama administration's wakeup call. THIS time the people protesting were polite and orderly and moderately respectful. NEXT time - well, feathers are pretty portable, and a couple of pounds of tar would go a long way.

It's a tradition that may be about due for a resurgence.

The next year is going to be very interesting indeed.

J.

If those little cell-phone booster stickers work?

Cellphone antenna booster sticker test and analysis

Answer? No. Didn't really expect them to, but I figured it'd be work looking at. In the new cube, if I've got the cell phone on top of the computer case, I get one bar.

Anywhere else in the cube - nothin'.

So, things work for now - but maybe in a couple of years I'll switch to ATT if they've got a decent rate and a decent phone. I wouldn't mind getting a local booster - but they're too expensive and the benefits are a trifle nebulous. I'll just make do with what I've got.

J.

on companies providing a good NOT end up raising the end cost of that good? Or is that actually the point behind the tax?

Dem Senator Warns of 'Big, Big Tax' on Middle Class in Baucus Bill - The Note

It's not every day that you hear a Democratic senator charge that a fellow Democrat is proposing to raise taxes on the middle class, but that is what happened on Tuesday when Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., ripped into the health-care bill developed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mt., the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

The Baucus proposal would impose, starting in 2013, a 35 percent excise tax on insurance companies for "high-cost plans" -- defined as those above $8,000 for individuals and $21,000 for family plans.

Health economists believe a tax on high-priced benefits could help slow the growth of health costs by making consumers more sensitive to prices.

The tax contemplated by Baucus is also a big revenue raiser. It is expected to raise $200 billion, money that Baucus is hoping to use to pay for subsidies for the uninsured.

Given how much money this kind of tax can raise, Rockefeller says he understands why it is "tempting."

The West Virginia Democrat worries, however, that a lot of middle class workers, like the coal miners in his state, will end up facing "a big, big tax" under the Baucus bill because they currently enjoy generous employer-provided health care benefits which they receive tax free.

J.

Mother got home from Emory Friday.

Yesterday, she went back to Kennestone. Urinary tract infection, and other things that weren't right... we'll see where things go from here, but we've already specified that no invasive procedures be used, no extraordinary care, no feeding tubes... she thinks it's just about time to let nature take its course, and Father and I agree.

Sigh.

Well, 92's a pretty darn good run. And it could be after this UTI is knocked down she'll be feeling better... we'll see, but hopeful I ain't.

There's not much more I could say (well, actually there's plenty but nothing terribly coherent...) about this - I could wish things were different, but I don't know how they could have been 'better' other than having her be healthy until now, and then just forgetting to wake up one morning.

But reality is was it is - not as we would wish it.

Other stuff... random thoughts.

Last week, something happened to the toilet upstairs - we had one of those blue blocks in it, and we were getting some blue spots under the tank. A close examination showed why - a hairline fracture in the tank. So that got swapped out with a Kohler that was on sale at Home Depot - and I've got another bit of know-how under my belt. The most time-consuming part was taking the blasted thing to the dump and discarding it. The kit was complete, the instructions not QUITE as good as I'd have liked. Eh, such is life.

The old one was right at about 30 years old - it had a 1979 manufacturing date, and there was some UGLY wallpaper behind it. If this one lasts 30 years, it'll be someone else's problem - and there won't be any wallpaper behind it. (Did use a Sharpie to mark it with the install date on the back, however, so there will be no doubt.)

Tomorrow my lovely bride and I will have been married 16 years. Sure doesn't seem that long at all... but where did this 11 year old come from?

Hope your week's going well. Interesting times we're living in, aren't they?

J.

Quick view of the 9/12 event...

Notice the empty areas on the Mall going toward the Washington Monument? I understand that was blocked off for another group - that didn't show.

Hmmm. Looks like a lot of people to me - how about you?

J.

Well, it's been an interesting week. Mother went back into the hospital with a UTI, and we're at the point where hospice is the way forward. It's been coming for a while, but now... sigh. I really, really hated having to sign the paperwork on all that - it's not something I ever thought I'd be needing to do on my own mother. Father could have - but he deferred it to me since I've got the POA for them both.

On the good side - Father's getting rid of a Sealy 'pillow top' mattress he hates. Anyone need a queen-sized mattress? Let me know. There wasn't room for that and the hospital bed Mother's going to need, so we went down to IKEA and got Father a new box spring and foam mattress. Talked with him this morning, and he said it was the first time in months he'd slept through the night.

Now the little guy wants a new mattress. From Ikea. It's always something, isn't it?

J.

California hoses its energy future - again « Watts Up With That?

According to the New York Times, a major solar power project in California has been canceled. It seems that even creating solar power in the middle of nowhere in a desert can't get past California environmentalists these days. If not here, where then on earth will be acceptable? Don't hold your breath.

The Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything groups have done it again. They seem to have a fundamental disconnect between the idea that our civilization needs power, and their drive to preserve everything in a completely untouched state.

So... we can't use solar now. We can't use wind. Hydropower's maxed out. Coal isn't acceptable, natural gas barely so. Nuclear gives the left apoplectic fits.

About all that's left are giant mutated hamsters spinning in their wheels all day and night... and with THAT there's a waste issue!

J.

Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain dispenser - Ecofriendly Products,Other Consumer Electronics

Coca-Cola Freestyle™ is a new fountain dispenser that serves more than 100 sparkling and still beverage brands from a single freestanding unit. The design and interactive touch-screen interface represent a complete departure from a standard soda fountain. Coca-Cola Freestyle™ creates branded beverages via proprietary PurePour Technology™. It does not use fountain beverage syrup, but instead uses concentrated ingredients stored in cartridges in the dispenser cabinet. The technology reports on actual consumption information so that individual brand popularity can be measured. Choices offered include favorites Coca-Cola®, Sprite® and Diet Coke®, as well as newer brands like Coke Zero™, and Powerade Zero™. Many of the brands are available only on the Coca-Cola Freestyle dispenser, and nowhere else in the world, including include caffeine-free Diet Coke® with Lime, Fanta® Zero Peach, Grape Vault®, Minute Maid® Light Orange Lemonade and more. The design originated with The Coca-Cola Company, who worked with a number of technology partners to bring the concept to fruition. This dispenser is being tested in selected outlets in Atlanta and southern California, prior to market launch.

Are there any near where YOU live? Bear in mind, these are the rollout sites - if they're received well, I expect them to be ubiquitous in a year or so...

Check out the locations...

Have a Coke and a smile!

J.

... when CASTRO says you're making the right decisions in governing a country.

The Associated Press: Fidel Castro praises Obama on climate change

HAVANA — Barack Obama's call for action on climate change and his admission that rich nations have a particular responsibility to lead has received strong praise from an unusual source — U.S. nemesis Fidel Castro.
The former Cuban leader on Wednesday called the American president's speech at the United Nations "brave" and said no other American head of state would have had the courage to make similar remarks.
In a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday, Obama acknowledged that the United States had been slow to act on climate change, but said Washington was now prepared to be a full partner as the world confronts the threat.

J.

What do you do when you're finally cornered, and actually have to produce the data supporting global warming?

Get the dog to eat it, of course...

Taking a bite out of climate data - Watts Up With That?

Imagine if there were no reliable records of global surface temperature. Raucous policy debates such as cap-and-trade would have no scientific basis, Al Gore would at this point be little more than a historical footnote, and President Obama would not be spending this U.N. session talking up a (likely unattainable) international climate deal in Copenhagen in December.

Steel yourself for the new reality, because the data needed to verify the gloom-and-doom warming forecasts have disappeared.

Or so it seems. Apparently, they were either lost or purged from some discarded computer. Only a very few people know what really happened, and they aren't talking much. And what little they are saying makes no sense.

Seriously, they're basing the entire proposed alteration of the world's economy on one set of data, and then they don't make backups?

To coin a phrase, "What's up with that?" That's Computer 101 stuff - backup your stuff early and often, and the more important it is the more you need to back it up.

So - this was incredibly important info, that they didn't bother to back up...

Hmmm.

What are YOUR thoughts on it?

J.

(Cause the week's been a bit grim...)

League of Librarians Trading Cards - a set on Flickr

Enjoy!

J.

Woot.com Traffic As An Indicator of National Financial Stability

When in the course of human events people lose their jobs and their ways to pay for bags of random stuff and close-out smoke detectors, it behooves all good men to approach shopping site Woot.com with trepidation and distrust. The result? A steady decline in traffic from the post-holiday period of 2009 until about May 2009. Now, however, that is changing. If I can draw your attention to this graph, you’ll notice that yes, traffic is going up. Everything is going to be OK.

J.

Somehow, I think I know.

Ensign receives handwritten confirmation - Live Pulse - POLITICO.com

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it "Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold."

That would have hit HARD on my income...

Can anyone realistically argue that levying this fine on the poor is a good idea?

Seems to me like there's more and more incentive to NOT pass this so-called 'reform' that's gogin to end up complicating things and making them hideously expensive. The benefits just aren't looking to be there to justify the cost.

J.

Hot Air - Blog Archive - Study: Regulation costs California economy almost $500 billion

Conservatives and liberals often square off over the proper level of government regulation, but most people agree that some level of oversight is necessary to defend against fraud, waste, and abuse. But at what level does the regulation itself become waste and abuse, this time by bureaucrats rather than stakeholders in the markets? Two researchers at California State University Sacramento may not have the answer to that question, but certainly can argue that California has long since passed the threshold...

What would $500 BILLION mean to CA at this point? It's a third of the state's gross product, five times the general fund budget.

There comes a point where too much governance is counter-productive. I submit that for California, that point has LONG ago been passed...

J.

Which fountain? The Coca-Cola Freestyle fountain, of course. We sought out a fast food place (The Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits just a bit south of the Big Chicken on 41...) and tried the thing out.

I'm... both impressed and disappointed.

The selection process is relatively straightforward - you identify your drink, then get the subflavor of it. Then get some ice in your cup, and press the 'Pour' button - and out comes the guzzle you selected.

Then the problem hits.

It might just be me, but the drinks seem over-carbonated at first. So much so that a 20oz cup is about a quarter empty after the foam settles down... and then it's flat. And the tastes seemed... off. I tried a Fanta Peach - although it was okay, it wasn't anything special and the taste seemed kind of bland. (Should have tried a Fanta Orange, I guess...) Also tried a Coke (non-diet) with lime - again, the flavor hit quickly and faded fast.

I'm not sure what to make of this. Understandably the drink has to dispense forcefully in order to mix the ingredients and flavors - but it kills the carbonation when it does that. Without the carbonation you end up with something sweet, but hardly compelling.

Well, there's a reason they test market these things. How much of the flavor of a Coke, the experience of a Coke, so to speak, comes from the carbonation? And without it, what do you end up with?

Technically, the idea is excellent. In practice? I think there's still a bug or two that needs to be taken care of...

J.