That’s the lead question in an article by Kevin Kelly at Wired, Better than Human.
He asks:
Imagine that 7 out of 10 working Americans got fired tomorrow. What would they all do?
Well, we’ve been there, done that. And thrived.
Background on Well Depletion in Early Years of Production – The Decline Rate
The shale wells using horizontal production have a very high drop off rate in production over the first few years. The initial production (IP) is very high which falls fast (depletion rate). The wells then sustain production at a low level (terminal decline) for a very long time.
That is a very simple summary of what I’ve learned in the last year.
Here is a more detailed explanation from Michael Filloon at Seeking Alpha – Bakken Update: EOG Wells Model EURs Over 2 Million Barrels Of Oil
Here is his first comment that is quite helpful to me:
Continue reading “Background on Well Depletion in Early Years of Production – The Decline Rate”
Why I’m talking about banking and why I have so many blogs
(Cross-post from Nonprofit Update.)
There are so many fascinating industries in the economy. Why do so many of my posts talk about banking?
Why do I have so many blogs?
And where will I put future conversation on banking?
My experience with financial institutions
Continue reading “Why I’m talking about banking and why I have so many blogs”
France starts air operations in Mali
A quick survey on developments in Mali:
Wall Street Journal – French Join Africa Battle With Islamist Rebels – Paris Puts Troops on Ground, Asks U.S. for Drones to Help Fight al Qaeda-Linked Insurgents Gaining a Foothold in Mali
France has put boots on the ground. They have requested the US provide surveillance drones. Speculation in the article, or perhaps it is a trial balloon, indicated the US will assist. Several countries near Mali have troops on the scene.
WSJ – As Nations Plot an Offensive in Mali, Rebels Edge South
Surprise! North Dakota oil production drops in November
November production declined to 733,097 barrels per day (bopd) from revised 749,322 in October. That is a decline of 16,225 bopd, or 2.2%. That is still the second highest ever production.
Statewide stats here, Bakken-only here.
The director of NDIC indicated this is primarily due to bad weather in the month: Continue reading “Surprise! North Dakota oil production drops in November”
Expect to see continuing rise is U.S. oil production – EIA forecast for ’13 and ’14
The Energy Information Administration has a prediction for oil production over the next two years:
EIA estimates U.S. total crude oil production averaged 6.4 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2012, an increase of 0.8 million bbl/d from the previous year. Projected domestic crude oil production continues to increase to 7.3 million bbl/d in 2013 and 7.9 million bbl/d in 2014, which would mark the highest annual average level of production since 1988.
Here’s what that looks like in a table:
Downside to cameras everywhere and the near-zero cost to record data
We are being recorded and logged and photographed everywhere we go. We need to be aware.
I’m not sure we have all caught on to the extent that we are tracked. Andy Kessler ponders where we are in his Wall Street Journal article, In the Privacy Wares, It’s iSpy vs. gSpy – Big Brother is watching us. But we are watching back.
Boundaries of monitoring
He reminds us there is a log and probably a photo from every time you interact with a toll booth, cell tower, ATM, or commercial security cameras, of which there may be as many as 30M around the country.
As cheap as storage is, those records will be retained for years, if not decades.
Ponder the new boundaries of the monitoring:
Continue reading “Downside to cameras everywhere and the near-zero cost to record data”
Pondering the Foreclosure Settlement – 1
I’m scratching my head about the $8.5 billion settlement between 10 banks and regulators. Is it a shakedown or are the banks getting off easy?
Do we need to be asking even more questions about what happened in the Great Recession?
I’ll highlight a few articles so you can start to explore the issue for yourself.
Background
Who inherits your digital music, books, and movies? Who controls your social media after you die?
Can you give your digital books or movies to your heirs? Can your family gain access to your social media sites after your death to preserve your memories and content?
Our legal system hasn’t quite dealt with those questions. At the moment, the answers to those questions are probably no.
Amount of water to frack Bakken wells will be provided by excess from the Missouri river
Good background article on the amount and availability of water needed to frack all those wells in North Dakota from a post by Bruce Oksol at Million Dollar Way. He converts the amounts into acre-feet of water in his post, Update on Availability of Water Necessary to Frack Wells in the Bakken.
For future reference, here is the conversion calculation: Continue reading “Amount of water to frack Bakken wells will be provided by excess from the Missouri river”
Can your cloud provider do *anything* they want with your data?
If you read the terms of service for one particular provider, it looks like the answer is yes.
Check out these terms of use from Prezi, which provides a cloud-based presentation tool:
Continue reading “Can your cloud provider do *anything* they want with your data?”
Price of admission to the American frontier was steep – part 2
The Homestead Act, signed into law 150 years ago in May 1862, opened up the American frontier.
This was the deal: Claim 160 acres of land, farm it for five years and then the government gave you title for no charge.
Does that mean it was free land? Not a chance.
The price of admission was extremely steep.
Continue reading “Price of admission to the American frontier was steep – part 2”
Check out my newest blog, Freedom Is Moral
(Cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)
On January 1st I launched a new blog, Freedom Is Moral.
What’s the focus?
The focus on that blog will be the concept that when you consider all the options, freedom is the moral choice.
Whether you want to discuss economics, political systems, or religious worship, the moral option is the one that involves freedom.
Why a new blog?
Continue reading “Check out my newest blog, Freedom Is Moral”
Manage the risks of your technology
The tools available today are incredibly amazing and powerful. You can do astounding things.
I can publish several blogs at minimal out-of-pocket cost which are available world-wide. Very cool.
There are dangers, but that’s okay. We need to know the risks and then manage them.
I have two posts at my other blog, Nonprofit Update, that discuss some dangers and how to minimize them.
They are:
“Feudal Security”
That’s the title used by Bruce Schneier in a post that draws an analogy of the ways we use our data to a feudal society.
My very short description is that our system of allowing Apple or Google or Microsoft to store our data on their servers and provide hardware platforms with reduced opportunity to manage our own security is a change from the previous model of having our own servers and maintaining our own security and backup.
That is similar to a feudal society in which the peasants work for a lord who provides all their security.