We need to learn quickly to keep up with the massive change around us so we don't get run over. We need to outrun change.
That’s the report from Dickinson Press, Oil, ag compete for role of ND’s biggest industry
Value of oil and natural gas produced in the state for the 12 months ending July 30, 2013 is estimated at $24.9 billion.
A record-setting year of revenue received by farmers and ranchers in 2012 was $12.1 billion. That is up from the previous record of $9B from 2010.
Textile mills are coming back to the U.S. but not bringing many jobs with them.
So reports The New York Times: U.S. Textile Plants Return, With Floors Largely Empty of People.
The article tells of one company that switched from buying textiles from a company in India to a company in South Carolina.
Continue reading “Reshoring – textile plants starting to return”
Here’s two criticisms of the high-tech version of medieval windmills, one humorously rhetorical and one serious.
First, wind farms were cutting edge technology 800 years ago – turbines are, quite literally, medieval.
Second, it is a sophisticated way to transfer money from public coffers to private pockets of a select few.
Continue reading “Wind farms – cutting edge technology in 1185 A.D.”
There are two Forbes articles this year that are quite fascinating because they take me into worlds I’ll never see which are far away in a solar system that I’ll never approach.
Maybe I’m just slow to catch on to how eagles behave, how wind farms are set up, and how hard eagles work to stay out of the way of said turbines.
While I struggle to get myself educated, I found some bemusement (confused, bewildered) in a report from Bismarck Tribune as the PSC hears facts of Hettinger-area wind project.
Last week I mentioned Adams county approved zoning for a 75 tower wind farm. See Slice-and-dice farm approved in North Dakota.
The Public Service Commission still needs to approve the plan. At the hearing a few things were mentioned.
Orbital Sciences is the second private company to design and launch a rocket that can resupply the international space station.
Very cool. The space frontier is open again.
The 40-meter tall Antares rocket lifted off with the company’s Cyngus cargo capsule Wednesday and will rendezvous with the space station Sunday.
Cargo capacity is 680 kg, or about 1,500 pounds.
Continue reading “Second private company launches resupply capsule to space station”
(Cross-post from my other blog, Attestation Update.)
That’s the internet era version of the old line:
Don’t pick a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.
Here is today’s illustration of the concept: Francine McKenna was invited to debate the question “Does ethics training change behavior?” She was going to argue the ‘no’ position.
The Ethics and Compliance Officer Association Annual Conference disinvited her after protests by other speakers and some sponsors, according to her post, Canceled: Why I Won’t Be Speaking At Ethics And Compliance Officers Association Annual Conference.
Continue reading “Don’t pick a fight with someone who buys pixels by the terabyte – ethics version”
That’s the forecast from Lynn Helms, Director of the Department of Mineral Resources while addressing the North Dakota Petroleum Council meeting.
The projections for production are to eventually hit a level of 1,600,000 barrels a day. That is with the rapid decline rate in Bakken wells. July ’13 production for the state was 874,681 BOPD.
The Dickinson Press article, ND mineral resources director say Bakken in for some “turbulence” has this comment which needs explanation: Continue reading “Eventual Bakken production – 1.6M barrels a day. Current number of rigs could be in place for 20 years”
The steady drip-drip-drip of daily news shows there is more bad news yet to be revealed. Several times a week the boundary of the surveillance scandal grows. This mess will get worse before all the news is out.
Here is my fourth list of good stuff that I’d like talk about but only have time to recommend with a quick comment.
Start with something a bit lighter. Be forewarned the author sometimes uses naughty words…ah, make that normally uses naughty words:
Continue reading “More good stuff on surveillance – 9-17-13”
That’s the idea that you push off on other people the negative costs of what you do.
Steve Landsburg gives a wonderfully simple explanation of the idea of externalities at his post RIP, Ronald Choase, reflecting on the Nobel prize level contributions of an economist that passed from this world last week.
Continue reading “Scary simple explanation of externalities”
Average daily production in July was 874,681 barrels (bopd), which is an increase of 53,150 per day, or 6.47% for the month.
By my calc, this is an increase of 198,281 bopd from 7-12 to 7-13, or 29.3%. In the prior year (7-11 to 7-12), daily production increased by 251,231 bopd, or 50.1%.
The 12 month increase through 7-13 was smaller in amount and percent than the prior year. Only a one-third increase in a year. As I’ve pointed out before, only in the world of North Dakota oil production is a 29% annual increase not impressive when compared to the prior year.
Director’s cut is here.
Here are some graphs. Average daily production of the last 5 1/2 years: Continue reading “North Dakota oil production hits another record in 7-13 with 6.5% increase for month”
At least 67 golden and bald eagles have been killed in the last five years by wind farms. That is according to a report published in the Journal of Raptor Research discussed by the AP at “Alarming’ number of eagles killed by wind farms, new study finds.
But that’s just for starters.
That death count is small potatoes because it does not include the casualty count from the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area.
The Via Meadia reprint of their advice to college students from 3 years ago applies even better to those of us in the work force. The rules of the economy have changed radically and we better know what is going on around us or we will be in trouble. The post is Back to School.
Here are the major headings, my thoughts, and a few quotes
1. The real world does not work like school.
A 75 turbine wind-farm has been approved near the North Dakota/South Dakota border, south of Dickinson, southwest of Bismarck.
The zoning commission and county commission approved the farm Monday (9-9-13), according to an article in the Bismarck Tribune, Adams County approved $350 million mega-wind farm near Hettinger.
Continue reading “Slice-and-dice farm approved in North Dakota”
I really don’t know what to make of the Washington state regulatory rules for selling pot, which is illegal under federal law. I hesitate to mention it on this blog, but it is a useful exercise in stretching my understanding of the world around me.
William Barrett describes the new regs in his post, New pot rules for Seattle are a riot-for now, at New to Seattle.
Here’s just a few of the rules: Continue reading “Regulation for state-legal sales of federally-illegal product”