by Maitri
on June 14, 2010
On Friday, I met a middle-aged local who, after chatting for a while, informed me that I am too socio-politically conservative for my age. My cheeks hurt so much from smiling like a fool since. The world has hope yet, people.
Which we need when people like Bruce Bullock of the Maguire Energy Institute says to Offshore Engineer magazine
“I don’t think there’s anybody who will argue that a pause in new permitting is not a prudent thing to do. I think the question is going to be: what level of risk, as a society, are we ultimately willing to take? Airplanes crash, but we still fly. Cars crash, but we still drive.”
Someone want to tell Mr. Bullock that the reality is more along the lines of the equivalent of multiple airlines crashing into multiple cars for the last 56 days?
True futurists need to meditate on and research the questions posed by Gail over at The Oil Drum instead:
- Can businesses really be expected to regulate themselves, with minimal oversight?
- Can technology solve all our problems?
- If there are technological solutions, can they be expected immediately?
- Can we really depend on the oil supply that everyone has told us is here?
Back to the present and the latest issue of well casing compromised downhole and the fear that this puts gushing oil in communication with the seafloor other than just at the wellhead. We knew back in May, right around the time of Top Kill and before the LMRP plan (ah, those were the days), that an anonymous BP official revealed that BP had “discovered things that were broken in the sub-surface,” and that “mud was making it out to the side, into the formation.” At what depth is this crack? How big is it? How porous and faulted is the seafloor in this area?
Regardless of how many of these questions are answered, we’re going to have to wait until August for the 12-day-late relief well to PLEASE JESUS not blow out as well, make contact with and occupy that specific (x,y,z) location in the reservoir horizon, and capture ALL of the flow. During hurricane season.
by Maitri
on June 11, 2010
Sign 1
Do you always check your e-mail before doing other things? Most of the time.
Sign 2
Do you frequently find yourself anticipating the next time you’ll be online? Yes. (Update: I run two blogs and write occasionally for another one. My anticipation here is not waiting on my next fix as much as it is What Comments Do I Have To Moderate Now? and Who Lit Fire To What? The Internet – it is serious business after all.)
Sign 3
When you’re online and someone needs you, do you usually say “just a few more minutes” before stopping? Sometimes. Not at work.
Sign 4
Have you ever lied about or tried to hide how long you’ve been online? No.
Sign 5
Have you ever chosen to spend time online rather than going out with others? No.
Sign 6
Does going online lift you from a depressed or nervous mood? No.
Sign 7
Do others in your life often complain about the amount of time you spend using technology? Yes. (I get paid to do it, so yeah.)
===
What now? Am I overloaded or not? So many signs add up to someone sending out an ambulance? Do I check myself into Betty Ford Grace Hopper? Free carpal tunnel splints? What?
by Maitri
on June 10, 2010
“People often say, what can we do for Iranians? The point implicit in my book was: Look at what these young Iranians are doing for you. They are reminding you of the best in your own culture, and showing you how through imagination one can connect”
from The Times Online
by Maitri
on June 10, 2010
“You guys are probably responsible for this. You provided these styrofoam cups knowing they were unstable.”
by Maitri
on June 9, 2010
Guess what I’m listening to: Bob Edwards in New Orleans showcasing New Orleans music! It’s as epic as the Bill Moyers – David Simon interview.
From BobEdwards.info:
Bob went to New Orleans for the first weekend of the city’s annual Jazz & Heritage Festival. Today, we offer a sampling of the 12 interviews which range from up-and-coming locals, like Stanton Moore and Trombone Shorty, to established New Orleans royalty, like [Dr. John], Allen Toussaint and Irma Thomas, to foreign musicians who came to visit and never left, like Jon Cleary, Anders Osborne and Theresa Andersson. We’ll bring you these interviews from now until the end of July.
Click here to download the sampler and interview with Dr. John.
Here“s the full schedule (mp3s of the interviews are available through the Bob Edwards Show blog after each episode airs):
Dr. John – May 26 – click here to listen
Ben Jaffe – June 2 – click here to listen
Stanton Moore / Trombone Shorty – June 9
Anders Osborne / Theresa Andersson – June 16
Allen Toussaint – June 23
Irma Thomas – June 30
Roger Lewis (of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band) – July 7
Jimmy Carter (of The Blind Boys of Alabama) – July 14
Keely Smith – July 21
Jon Cleary – July 28
