News from a job we are involved in.

" Italian oil producer Eni this week began drilling a new well in U.S. waters off the north coast of Alaska, becoming the first company to do so since 2015, federal regulators said on Wednesday.

The oil and gas firm is working from an artificial island in the Beaufort Sea about three miles off Oliktok Point in the Arctic Ocean. The well is expected to run more than 6 miles (10 km) long."

“The Arctic is an important component of the Administration’s national energy strategy, and today’s news is great for America as the United States advances toward energy dominance,” said Interior's Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Joe Balash. “Interior is actively working with a number of Alaska Native partners, who rely on the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas for their subsistence way of life, to ensure a healthy environment for today and future generations.”

Read the full article here and here.

Supreme Court Appears Reluctant in "Oil States vs. Greene Energy"

This is an interesting case. It most likely will not prevail, but could possibly lead to changes in lots of matters handled via non-judicial review in government agencies.

Read the whole article on ArsTechnica: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/11/supreme-court-seems-reluctant-to-blow-up-a-key-weapon-against-patent-trolls/

Aker BP Enters Drilling, Well Alliances with Halliburton, Maersk, Odfjell | Rigzone

Aker BP Enters Drilling, Well Alliances with Halliburton, Maersk, Odfjell  | Rigzone: "Aker BP ASA has entered into separate drilling and well alliance agreements, which both aim to drive ‘continuous improvement’ and create ‘greater value’, according to a company statement. One of the agreements is with Maersk Drilling and Halliburton for jack-ups, and the other is with Odfjell Drilling and Halliburton for semi-submersibles. The agreements are scheduled to last for five years, and there is an option to extend for a further five years."

'via Blog this'

Another Patent Awarded...

Today, I was doing research for an upcoming project that involved compiling a list of patents, either issued or filed for, that I am listed as an inventor on.

Through this process, I was able to determine that another patent has been issued here in the US. This brings the total up to 3 issued in the US. I think as of right now, at least one of those has also been issued in the EU and Canada.

That leaves about 6 still pending. At least for what has been filed so far.

The patent I m referring to today is:

Sweep Efficiency for Hole Cleaning | US Patent No. 9759645

Babelfish are Here!!!!!

Google has finally brought us the Babelfish! For $159 US?

We are the next step closer to a universal translator. I want this! I want to be nosy around people speaking foreign languages...I want to be able to communicate with most people I encounter on travels. I would have loved to have this back when I was traveling the world for work!

But the most intriguing feature of the Pixel Buds is the integrated Google Translate feature. Demoed on stage at Google's event today, this feature lets two Pixel Bud wearers chat in their native languages by translating conversations in real-time. In the demo, a native English speaker and a native Swedish speaker had a conversation with each other, both using their native languages. Google Translate in the Buds' translated the English phrases into Swedish, and the Swedish phrases into English, for each user. There was barely any lag time in between the speaker saying a phrase and the Buds' hearing those words and translating them into the appropriate language.

Read the full article, "Google Pixel Buds are wireless earbuds that translate conversations in real time" at  Ars Technica.

Weatherford - Intel IoT Collaboration

Here's a shout-out to a former colleague, Colin Tait, Currently director of IT at Weatherford. Colin is a sharp individual with a knack for developing solutions.

"Colin Tait, Director of Information Technology at Weatherford, stood alongside Jonathan Ballon, vice president in the Internet of Things Markets and Channels at Intel Corporation, during Ballon’s keynote on day one of the conference. The executives discussed how IoT-enabled oilfield devices can improve the efficiency and profitability of production operations, from surface equipment to the back office."

Read the whole press release on Weatherford's website.

TECH SHOWCASE: Digital Process Improvement Mentor | Rigzone

TECH SHOWCASE: Digital Process Improvement Mentor  |  Rigzone: "A Midland, Texas-based company has unveiled a wellsite data management system for operators and service companies that reportedly can help to shorten the learning curve for younger generations of field personnel as experienced veterans move on. “The entire concept of capturing the field knowledge of experienced workers is central to our system,” Travis Laman, president and founder of Delta Perform/DEC Global, said of his company’s trademarked “PERFORM” system. “We also believe the discipline our system brings to the process will significantly reduce non-productive time and improve safety.”"

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Stephen Waguespack: Rebuild Trust with Technology

LABI President Stephen Waguespack wrote today that we should be using more technology to inform the public on what is being done, how money is being spent, etc. He also points out that a lot of people in the state are interested in the same thing, regardless of where you lay on the political spectrum.

"It hit me this week while fielding questions from radio listeners on The Jim Engster Show: as much time as we all spend these days talking about what divides us, the truth is we are not as far apart as most think.

A few callers asked about proposals for new revenue streams, mandates or regulations on businesses and non-profits, while others wanted to explore different options to fight poverty. The affordability and quality of health care were discussed, as was the specific structure of our tax code and its inability to provide stability for both private markets and public services.

While most of the callers came from a more liberal political perspective than I do, many of the topics were the right ones on which to focus.

For all the fussing and fighting in politics today, I think that all Republicans, Democrats and independents want good public schools, safe and growing communities and affordable health care when they need it. There should be no disagreement on that. No one is out there credibly advocating for a shrinking economy or less transparency in government."

Continue reading his article on the LABI website. 

Code Name Insight: What's the Fiscal State of Your State?

Code Name Insight: What's the Fiscal State of Your State?: "What's the Fiscal State of Your State? If you live in one of several states--I'm looking at you Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and these others--and you rely on the state in any way (for your income, pension, medical care services, payments to your business, etc), well, things aren't looking so good.  These states are on the brink of bankruptcy (kind of, states can't actually file for bankruptcy but that doesn't mean they are financially solvent...they are basically out of money and in the hole so far no one in their right mind would loan them money/buy their bonds)."

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 91 Thru 100--You

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 91 Thru 100--You: "Prepping Challenges 91 Thru 100--You Sometimes you go through the previous 90 prepping challenges, you have a massive amount of food and water stockpiled and...you end up a refugee with only the clothes on your back.  Of all of the refugees I have known--from the previously very wealthy to the previously very poor--many ended up fleeing war-ravaged countries with basically what they could carry with them.  So this is perhaps the most important section as you are your most important secret weapon for surviving whatever disaster comes along."

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Code Name Insight: 25 Hurricane Dangers

Code Name Insight: 25 Hurricane Dangers: "25 Hurricane Dangers If you have been watching the news today (literally every station) you will have seen the non-stop reporting on Hurricane Irma which is hitting Florida as I type this.  All of this coverage provides a lot of 'lessons learned' about prepping for a major hurricane.  These are the many dangers that a hurricane can pose and what you need to prepare for if you live in a hurricane-prone area:"

'via Blog this'

Does the 4% Retirement Spending Rule Still Hold Up—And Where Do Rentals Fit in?

Here is an interesting article on how much money you need to "save" for retirement. It also proposes options for ensuring a comfortable retirement. #GoodRead


Does the 4% Retirement Spending Rule Still Hold Up—And Where Do Rentals Fit in?: "How much do you need? How can you ensure that you don’t run out of money in retirement? What’s the fastest way to get there, and does fast also mean safe?"

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Code Name Insight - Prepping Challenges 81 Thru 90--Special Circumstances

Prepping Challenges 81 Thru 90--Special Circumstances

If you are young, rich, and healthy, prepping can be a pretty easy thing to do.  That isn't most people.  Many people have a bundle of circumstances that often make prepping difficult to virtually impossible.  Here's what to do if you are any of these special circumstances...

Read the full post at the Code Name Insight Blog

Equifax Data Leak: Check if you were Affected - Google Thinks it is a Phishing site!

I woke up this morning and spent the first part of the morning catching up on Hurricane Irma news, (current status, future path,projected impact,etc.), then I noticed a headline that Equifax had a "data leak"...about a month ago...and possibly 143 MILLION people were affected...AND Equifax executives dumped company stock during the period between their discovering the  leak and their public announcement of the leak.

Crazy stuff, right? MR. ROBOT stuff.

So I go to the site set up to announce the leak and click on the link to check if my information was involved. This is what I see:

If this a joke? Is this a test? Yes, I understand what is actually going on. They are utilizing a third-party service for consumers to check if their data was involved in the leak, but this was a very shitty implementation. This could have easily been set up under the Equifax domain to not cause confusion. You would think someone would think of that...

As I was typing this up, the following tweets appeared, re-tweeted by a friend:

Step 1: "don't sell your shares based on inside knowledge of the breach" ranking pretty high on that list.

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 8, 2017

Step 2: "sorry our credit monitoring agency got hacked but it's fine here's some free credit monitoring" also pretty high up there.

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 8, 2017

Step 3: make your response to getting hacked not itself look like a phishing attack

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 8, 2017

Step 4: helps if your "click here to see if I'm affected" link actually works.

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 8, 2017

Step 5: "trust us, we got awesome people to do the response" falls a bit flat if you conspicuously hide the technical details of the hack

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 8, 2017

Step 6: "disappointing" is the wrong word if your company trades on trust and you just got hacked for 143m SSNs, DoBs & addresses via SQLi

— Pwn All The Things (@pwnallthethings) September 8, 2017

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 71 Thru 80--Protection

Prepping Challenges 71 Thru 80--Protection

You are responsible for protecting yourself and your family at all times.  While you can call the police for help, they usually don't arrive until after the fact.  And during a disaster, you will be lucky if you can even get through to 911 so it is up to you to develop some basic protection strategies.

Full Post: http://codenameinsight.blogspot.com/2017/09/prepping-challenges-71-thru-80.html

Post-Disaster Travel Safety Tips

The impetus for this post comes from my work life. A tale of warning, if you will.




Vehicle wake on a flooded road. Image credit: Reid Fiest / Global News

These events occurred after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas Gulf Coast and caused disastrous flooding in Houston, East Texas, and Southwestern Louisiana.

An employee worked at his regularly assigned location, in the Lafayette area, through the duration of the storm. His family, luckily, were safe from any of the hazards that plagued so many in the Houston area.

Once the storm passed, his crew rotation was finished, so he wanted to go home to be with his family. It was strongly recommended that he plot a northern route up I-49 with guidance from the Texas Dept. of Transportation and the Louisiana Dept. of Transportation and Development websites to track road closures. He is assumed to have complied with that request, but appeared to mainly rely on WAZE, the crowd-sourced navigation app, to route his trip. (More on this later.) His route involved going south from Lake Charles to cross the Sabine River, then taking various roads north and west to go through Beaumont and then on through Conroe and into Spring, Tx, where he resides.

On one particular road, he found traffic was only able to go in one direction and the other side of the road was a boat lane. Yes, it was underwater and actually being used by boats.

He was able to make it through Beaumont, but eventually he arrived at a point on the road he was traveling that was underwater in both directions. I was notified that he had come to a section that his car could not pass through. (More on this later, too.) He then decided that according to what he could tell, he could take back roads and get to I-10 in Orange, Tx, then he should have a straight shot with open roads back to Lafayette.

That plan wound up not working either as he again encountered flooded roads that his car could not pass over, so he was stuck. In an evacuated Bridge City, Tx.

Luckily, he knew someone who lived in nearby Orange, Tx. who had not evacuated and was able to come pick him up. He was able to stay with this friend for the next day or so until waters went down and he could then make it back to Lafayette and on to Spring via a northerly route.

There are two take-aways I want to focus on from this experience, detailed below.

1. A crowd-sourced traffic/hazard/navigation app relies on having a crowd available at a specific location to report hazards and road closures. In this case, I suspect it showed no traffic issues because there was no one telling it that there were issues on the selected route.

2. When planning to take a potentially risky route through an area that is experiencing flooding, DO NOT attempt to take said route in a car! Unless it is lifted and riding on large tires, you most likely will not make it.

Some other points I would like to add is be prepared to sit tight when traveling in this kind of situation. Make sure to have water, food, medication, cash, a blanket, and anything else you might need in the event you are stranded and unable to travel further.

Please let me know your thoughts on this post and any suggestions for staying safe in this type of situation.

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenge 61 Thru 70--Vehicle

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenge 61 Thru 70--Vehicle: "Prepping Challenge 61 Thru 70--Vehicle And the disasters don't stop, last week was Hurricane Harvey, next up Hurricane Irma.  So there is more prepping to do..."

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Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 51 Thru 60--Money

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 51 Thru 60--Money: "Prepping Challenges 51 Thru 60--Money Having enough money in reserve to see you through a disaster can mean the difference between living in comfort while your home is rebuilt or living in a mold-infested, partially broken down home.  Between being able to prep the basics like food and water ahead of time and waiting for when (or even if) food handouts will be given in your neighborhood.  Being on sound financial footing as soon as possible is one of the best ways to be prepared for a disaster. "

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Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 41 Thru 50--Medical

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 41 Thru 50--Medical: "Prepping Challenges 41 Thru 50--Medical Among the most important prepping skills to have are those of the medical variety.  As you can see from reports on Hurricane Harvey, medical services are often few and far between right after a disaster."

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Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 31 Thru 40--Grab and Go

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 31 Thru 40--Grab and Go: "Prepping Challenges 31 Thru 40--Grab and Go In honor of Hurricane Harvey, today's challenges will be aptly termed 'grab and go'..."

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First genetic engineering therapy approved by the FDA for leukemia | Ars Technica

First genetic engineering therapy approved by the FDA for leukemia | Ars Technica: "For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a therapy that involves genetically engineering a patient’s own cells, the agency announced Wednesday. The therapy, called Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel) by Novartis, will be used to reprogram the immune cells of pediatric and young adult patients with a certain type of leukemia, called B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. During a 22-day out-of-body retraining, patients’ immune cells—specifically T cells that patrol the body and destroy enemies—get a new gene that allows them to identify and attack the leukemia cells."

'via Blog this'

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 21 Thru 30--Shelter

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 21 Thru 30--Shelter: "Prepping Challenges 21 Thru 30--Shelter Next up for your survival challenges...shelter."

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Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 11 Thru 20--Food

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 11 Thru 20--Food: "Prepping Challenges 11 Thru 20--Food Next in importance to water when it comes to survival is food.  These challenges will ensure that you have enough food to survive an emergency..."

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Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 1 Thru 10--Water

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 1 Thru 10--Water: "Prepping Challenges 1 Thru 10--Water This week's prepping challenges to get your ready for anything: having enough stored water to see you through an emergency."

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Code Name Insight: And Today's Disaster Is...Prepping 101

Code Name Insight: And Today's Disaster Is...Prepping 101: "And Today's Disaster Is...Prepping 101 Another day, another disaster.  Things are moving along quickly, from disaster to disaster, as we go from one day (a possible nuclear attack) to the next (a racist mob) to the next (a terror attack on Barcelona).  What do all of these things have in common?  Your need to be prepared for anything that could happen because quite literally, ANY disaster could happen to you from day to day so you need to be ready."

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My Arm-Chair Quarterbacking

With Hurricane Harvey having visited destruction on our neighbors, friends, and family to the west, I am going to share some posts from a blog I follow regarding safety and disaster preparation.

For most who are not already prepared for these types of events, it's a little too late, but I am doing this in the hopes that it will help people to prepare for the next event, because there always is a next event.

I will re-post each of these posts as individual posts here on my blog.

Here are a few of the terms used by this blogger, in case you are not sure what they are:

BoB - Bug Out Bag

EDC - Every Day Carry (bag)

WTSHTF - When The Shit Hits The Fan

SHTF - Shit Hits The Fan

TEOTWAWKI - The End Of The World As We Know It

Like the Boyscouts...Be Prepared!

Updated...

Below are links to the CNI Prepping Challenges Posts on OFTaS:

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 1 Thru 10--Water:

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 11 Thru 20--Food:

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 21 Thru 30--Shelter:

Code Name Insight: Prepping Challenges 31 Thru 40--Grab and Go:

Junk call nightmare flooded woman with hundreds of bizarre phone calls a day | Ars Technica

Junk call nightmare flooded woman with hundreds of bizarre phone calls a day | Ars Technica:

'via Blog this'

Gadfly: Halliburton And Microsoft Do Not Compute For OPEC | Rigzone

Gadfly: Halliburton And Microsoft Do Not Compute For OPEC  |  Rigzone: "The killer app here, in every sense of the word, is providing crews and their managers with an integrated platform; a suite of sensors and software communicating seamlessly, updating constantly and available to all involved. Halliburton already has such a platform, called DecisionSpace. Marrying it with Microsoft's cloud-computing and artificial intelligence capability has the potential to not only take and organize more of the data spewing from an E&P client's fields but use machine learning to make better decisions about, say, when a vital piece of equipment needs to be replaced or how a fracking job could be done more quickly and cheaply."

'via Blog this'

Microsoft, Halliburton announce digital transformation partnership

Microsoft, Halliburton announce digital transformation partnership: "As a first step in the alliance, Halliburton has made DecisionSpace365 available on Azure, enabling real-time data streaming from IoT edge devices in oilfields and the ability to apply deep-learning models to optimize drilling and production to lower costs for customers. With the power of DecisionSpace on Azure, big compute and predictive deep-learning algorithms will help optimize field assets and enable next-generation exploration and deep-earth models by using software to fill gaps in sensor data, while reducing the number of steps and time required to render models."

'via Blog this'

Here's The Greatest News Photo In Baton Rouge History

You gotta click through to the picture...


Here's The Greatest News Photo In Baton Rouge History: "...Dudley DeBosier advertises on the sides of buses, right? Well, if you didn’t know that before you’ll certainly know it now – because that fact animates perhaps – as the headline says – the greatest news photo in the history of Baton Rouge."

'via Blog this'

How the Southern Poverty Law Center Enraged Nominal Conservatives Into Betraying Free Speech Values | Popehat

Three things to comment on here...Ken's take on this is spot-on.

Free speech is free speech. Just because you don't like what someone is saying doesn't mean it is wrong. Granted, it can't be libelous, either.

This is where the "Liberty Counsel" group chose the wrong target. If they feel they are being libeled, they should have gone after SPLC instead of GuideStar. But they know that would have cost them a lot more in legal fees.

The last thing is the description of the SPLC...They themselves have become a "hate" group by calling anyone who they don't like a "hate" group:

There are many reasons to criticize the modern SPLC,1 which has sadly fallen from a group that once fought Klansmen and Nazis to protect rights down to the level of a shrill, doctrinaire, orthodox-leftist flailing denouncer of miscellaneous petty thoughtcrime. It is no longer to be trusted or taken seriously. If you want your money to support people protecting the powerless from violent bigotry rather than funding the sophomoric assembly of tendentious enemies lists, you should donate elsewhere.

I am sure there are better ways to spend your  support dollars.

If you do want to support something for a good cause, how about something near & dear to my heart?

Restore or Retreat, a non-profit organization that seeks to identify, epedite, and aggressively engage solutions to urgently achieve comprehensive coastal restoration in Louisiana.

You can donate here: Support RoR

How the Southern Poverty Law Center Enraged Nominal Conservatives Into Betraying Free Speech Values | Popehat: "The latest culprit is Liberty Counsel, a group that litigates in pursuit of what it identifies as Christian values. Liberty Counsel has sued GuideStar, a database of charities, over GuideStar's controversial adoption of the Southern Poverty Law Center's "hate group" designation of entities including Liberty Counsel, which GuideStar later retracted. Liberty Counsel's complaint — which you can read here — is simply vexatious and unethical. It is — to abandon my pretense of decorum for a moment — a thoroughly contemptible and un-American piece of shit, and the lawyers who filed it deserve scorn. Liberty Counsel has filed a frivolous, censorious lawsuit against Guidestar in a cynical and craven attempt to avoid the more well-funded and ready-to-litigate PLC."

'via Blog this'

The Latest Forecast for Invest 93L – Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum's Weather Page

The models don't mean a thing if the inputs are crap. Until they have a defined center, they can't  accurately model w here it will go.

The Latest Forecast for Invest 93L – Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum's Weather Page: "The forecast models are not in agreement as to where this system may track. They are still spread from Central Texas to the Florida Panhandle. The latest GFS model shows it headed toward Louisiana, but it also had it going to Mobile, AL and Florida – you can see the uncertainty! The Euro has it going toward South Texas and North Mexico.  Once there is a closed circulation, then the models will have a better idea on where it may track. Hurricane Hunters are scheduled to investigate this system on Monday. They will also be able to get some great data about the atmosphere around the low and that data goes into the models too.  Some impacts for Louisiana we can plan for, no matter where it tracks, would be heavy rain and very high tides this week."

'via Blog this'

BSEE rule allows industry more development time - WorldOil.com

Interesting change...good for the companies doing exploration & development.


"A final regulation by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) doubles the amount of time offshore oil and gas operators will have to coordinate development operations and retain their leases in federal waters of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf.

“This rulemaking extends the time from 180 days to one year between production, drilling or well-reworking operations on a lease,” said BSEE Director Scott Angelle. “These additional months mean companies doing business on the Outer Continental Shelf will have more planning flexibility, which will help them be more cost efficient, create more jobs and maximize the economic benefit for the entire nation,” he said."

http://www.worldoil.com/news/2017/6/9/bsee-rule-allows-industry-more-development-time

Supreme Court agrees to rule if cops need warrant for cell-site data #ScrewThirdPartyDoctrine

Down with "third-party" doctrine! With everything going to "the cloud", it makes your whole life discoverable AND, as of right now, without a warrant!

Supreme Court agrees to rule if cops need warrant for cell-site data | Ars Technica: "The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide its biggest privacy dispute in years, a case that asks whether the authorities need a probable-cause court warrant to access people's mobile phone location history. "Because cell phone location records can reveal countless private details of our lives, police should only be able to access them by getting a warrant based on probable cause," said Nathan Freed Wessler, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union. "The time has come for the Supreme Court to make clear that the longstanding protections of the Fourth Amendment apply with undiminished force to these kinds of sensitive digital records." FURTHER READING Supreme Court asked to rule if cops need warrant for cell-site data For years, the authorities have been obtaining data pinpointing the cell towers that a suspect's mobile phone pinged—all without a warrant. That information is then used as evidence showing a suspect's past whereabouts. In the case before the justices, the authorities got 127 days of cell-site information that included 12,898 location points as part of a Detroit robbery investigation. Police can get this information without a warrant because of the so-called third-party doctrine. That's a legal theory allowing the government to demand companies to provide private information on people if that information is considered a normal business record. Because cell-site data is deemed a business record of the mobile phone companies, the telcos are required to disclose it as part of government investigations, without a probable-cause warrant."

'via Blog this'

Saudi-led alliance moves to isolate Qatar over Iran tensions

Hmmm...

Saudi-led alliance moves to isolate Qatar over Iran tensions: "Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries cut off most diplomatic and economic ties to Qatar, in an unprecedented move designed to punish one of the region’s financial superpowers for its ties with Iran and Islamist groups in the region. Oil gained and Qatari stocks plunged after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt said they will suspend air and sea travel to and from the Gulf emirate. Saudi Arabia will also shut land crossings with its neighbor, potentially depriving the emirate of imports through its only land border. Qatar called the accusations “baseless” and said they were part of a plan to “impose guardianship on the state, which in itself is a violation of sovereignty.” Qatar is one of the world’s richest countries and of strategic importance, being the biggest producer of liquefied natural gas. A country with a population smaller than Houston, its $335 billion sovereign wealth fund holds stakes in companies from Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group. It also hosts the forward headquarters of CENTCOM, the U.S. military’s central command in the Middle East."

'via Blog this'

Evaptainers decouples refrigeration from electricity to help rural farms and families | TechCrunch

Won't work in Southern Lousiana...but I like the idea!

Evaptainers decouples refrigeration from electricity to help rural farms and families | TechCrunch: "Taylor said, “As we sweat, water molecules draw heat out of our bodies to go through a phase-change, and evaporate. As that happens we cool down. This machine has water in a tank, and permeable membranes that deliver water to evaporative walls.” Each unit of the company’s newest EV-8-model refrigerators requires about 1/3 of a liter of water to operate per day in a place that’s got less than 65 percent humidity on a hot day. They can store 60 liters, about 5 gallons of milk, and chill contents by about 35 degrees Fahrenheit from the ambient air temperature."

'via Blog this'

BOEM Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Bathymetry Grid from 3D Seismic | BOEM

The actual resource itself:

BOEM Northern Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Bathymetry Grid from 3D Seismic | BOEM: "Northern Gulf of Mexico deepwater bathymetry grid created from 3D seismic surveys. The grid defines water depth with 1.4 billion 40-by-40 ft cells and is available in feet and meters. BOEM grid coverage is the area defined by the color in this image. Shaded relief is vertically exaggerated by a factor of five."

'via Blog this'

A 1.4-Billion-Pixel Map of the Gulf of Mexico Seafloor - Eos

More interesting stuff...from a geology perspective.

A 1.4-Billion-Pixel Map of the Gulf of Mexico Seafloor - Eos: "The geology of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is dynamic, driven not by plate tectonics but by the movement of subsurface bodies of salt. Salt deposits, a remnant of an ocean that existed some 200 million years ago, behave in a certain way when overlain by heavy sediments. They compact, deform, squeeze into cracks, and balloon into overlying material."

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New Seafloor Map Reveals How Strange the Gulf of Mexico Is

This is  cool as shit! The article gives just a hint at what  makes drilling wells in the Gulf of Mexico one of the most interesting challenges in the world!

New Seafloor Map Reveals How Strange the Gulf of Mexico Is: "The floor of the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most geologically interesting stretches of the Earth’s surface. The gulf’s peculiar history gave rise to a landscape riddled with domes, pockmarks, canyons, faults, and channels — all revealed in more detail than ever before by a new 1.4 billion-pixel map."

'via Blog this'

BAYHAM: Farewell To A Friend On The Other Side Of The Divide

The post, partially quoted, below, is something that people who voted for Hillary and People who voted for Donald should read and take to heart. While I didn't vote for either, I feel caught in the middle as a large percentage of my friends voted for one or the other.

BAYHAM: Farewell To A Friend On The Other Side Of The Divide: "“Congrats Bayham.  I’m despondent and in tears but please enjoy your victory….I can only hope that people like you will protect me  from my government. I have no hope….revel in your victory.  I hope the country gets all it deserves….don’t ask me for anything and f**k off if u are in town….f**k you you fat f**k.” Those are some of the last texts from Patrick, someone I considered my best friend in college. Patrick passed away far too young (late thirties) after suffering from a sudden illness."

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Rethinking “Wealthy”: The 5-Step Ladder From Middle Class to Financial Freedom

Rethinking “Wealthy”: The 5-Step Ladder From Middle Class to Financial Freedom: "When your investment income can cover all of your monthly expenses, you are no longer dependent on a job. Not just the minimum costs, but the fun stuff too. Dinners out. Travel. Entertainment. Congratulations, you’ve reached financial independence! You can retire any time if you want. My uncle, a financial genius, used to call this “f#%k you money”—you aren’t dependent on your boss, your job, the government, or anyone else. You can tell off the entire world and then go make yourself a cup of hot cocoa, put your feet up, take a nap, and not worry one whit about what anyone in the world thinks."

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Issues muddle DSA roadway #DrillingAutomation

Issues muddle DSA roadway: "“We keep looking at other industries and see how automated they are, but when you bring in people from other industries and show them our challenges, they realize this [drilling automation] is far tougher,” said Robin Macmillan, senior V.P. at NOV.  “Other industries don't require geological adaptability, which is one of the main challenges we face. So many things can change, and once an automated system has started, how will it deal with those changes?”"

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New Orleans refuses to remove Beauregard Monument after traffic camera mounted to it | THE PUSH POLE

New Orleans refuses to remove Beauregard Monument after traffic camera mounted to it | THE PUSH POLE: "The P.T.G. Beauregard Monument, once slated for removal, will be left up indefinitely after a protester attached a traffic camera to it. In less than two days, the camera had already generated over nine thousand dollars in revenue for city hall. “This camera is great for our city’s safety,” exclaimed Mayor Landrieau, “I want to reiterate that the money has absolutely nothing to do with our decision to leave the Beauregard monument up. This is all about keeping our motorists safe.”"

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Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich - The New Yorker

Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich - The New Yorker: "DOOMSDAY PREP FOR THE SUPER-RICH Some of the wealthiest people in America—in Silicon Valley, New York, and beyond—are getting ready for the crackup of civilization."

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BRIGGS: It’s Time To Flip The Conversation | The Hayride

BRIGGS: It’s Time To Flip The Conversation | The Hayride: "While the United States is experiencing a significant increase in drilling activity, Louisiana is seeing historically low rig counts. The United States saw a drastic increase in employment from 4.5 percent in December to 5.1 in January, but communities like the Houma-Thibodaux area saw 1,800 jobs cut in the same 31-day period. Unemployment in this area has increased from 6.1 percent in December to 6.7 percent in January, according to the article."

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Time crystals make their appearance, no blue police box reported | Ars Technica

Time crystals make their appearance, no blue police box reported | Ars Technica: "A time crystal is almost analogous to the crystals that you may be more familiar with, like salt and sugar. Salt consists of two atoms (sodium and chlorine) that are arranged in a fixed order in space. In any given direction, there is a characteristic length over which the crystal repeats itself. If I were located somewhere in the middle of a crystal and moved in any direction by the characteristic length (or a multiple of it), I would not actually be able to tell that I had moved. That is translational symmetry in space. This is more important than it sounds. The properties of matter are often dominated by the spatial order of the crystal. When you break that order, cool things happen (melting is an example of breaking spatial order). Rather than order in space, a time crystal has to have order in time. And we all know things that have order in time: the hands on a clock or a playground swing. These all repeat themselves in time. Do they count? No. And the reason is a bit technical."

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PassivDom is a Zombie-proof “autonomous 3D-printed mobile house” | TechCrunch

PassivDom is a Zombie-proof “autonomous 3D-printed mobile house” | TechCrunch: "There are three models, from ultra-simple to fully autonomous. The Autonomous house is 36 square meters and costs €59,900 to pre-order. There is already a model in Ukraine and they have a few thousand folks already on the waitlist for the houses. Luckily the team doesn’t take itself too seriously. They also offer a special “Zombie apocalypse” package that includes armored glazing, an alarm system, extra toilet paper storage and a bible."

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NFL’s Drew Brees backs Waitr to make takeout easy in anytown USA | TechCrunch

Local News!



NFL’s Drew Brees backs Waitr to make takeout easy in anytown USA | TechCrunch: "Food delivery startups abound in the U.S., but few of them deliver to customers in “second cities” and smaller towns. From early pioneers like Grubhub to newer services like DoorDash, food delivery businesses have tended to focus on urban areas with a high concentration of restaurants and people who frequently order takeout. Now, New Orleans Saints Quarterback, philanthropist and angel investor Drew Brees is backing a startup called Waitr to make takeout more convenient outside of the biggest cities. Waitr, which is based in Lake Charles and Lafayette, Louisiana, has been delivering food from restaurants to customers’ homes since 2014 in places like Lafayette, New Orleans, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Sacramento, California and Beaumont, Texas."

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Generate Electricity from Bacteria in Mud | Make:

Generate Electricity from Bacteria in Mud | Make:: "With some mud, salt, and water, you can create a closed circuit that generates a current. This is called a microbial fuel cell, a device that uses bacteria to create electrical power by oxidizing simple compounds like glucose or organic matter in wastewater. Given the finite supply of fossil fuels, this biofuel cell is a promising approach for generating power in a renewable, carbon-neutral way. "

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How Halliburton Is Handling Cyber Security - Bloomberg

Video at link.


How Halliburton Is Handling Cyber Security - Bloomberg: "Chief information officers from major oil and gas companies speak at the Bloomberg Future of Cyber Security: Spotlight on Oil and Gas event in Houston about how cyber risk is driving industry decision-making and how companies are responding to the need to defend their systems. (Source: Bloomberg)"

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Coach Orgeron Sets Out Decoys To Lure In 5-Star Recruits | THE PUSH POLE

Coach Orgeron Sets Out Decoys To Lure In 5-Star Recruits | THE PUSH POLE: "I’m a marsh rat. I do things a little different. Check out this fantastic spread here. No great football player could walk past these decoys without hitting the snot out of them. I got a perfect line of sight from over there in that blind (points at van). I’m gonna get first dibs on any big hitter who passes through here.  I expect by the end of the day, I’ll have bagged my limit."

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VIDEO: Did You Catch The Creepy Bill Nye On Tucker Carlson Monday Night? | The Hayride

VIDEO: Did You Catch The Creepy Bill Nye On Tucker Carlson Monday Night? | The Hayride: "Objectively, Bill Nye The Science Guy, who is not actually a scientist but rather a mechanical engineer, should have had his career come to an end on Monday owing to what you’ll see below. Nye, who is busy popularizing the leftist myth that there is settled science surrounding the idea of anthropogenic global warming, said over the weekend that it’s “cognitive dissonance” which explains the fairly widespread lack of buy-in to that myth. That wasn’t good enough for Carlson, who had Nye on his show and examined his reasoning by asking a fairly simple question for which Nye should have had an answer but did not – namely, what amount of the global warming Nye sees is man-made? Carlson wouldn’t leave that question alone despite Nye’s inability to give a straight answer to it, and before it was over Nye was babbling about English winemaking and declaring that global temperatures ought to reflect what they were in 1750 had man not screwed up the climate. This is, of course, rubbish – 1750 fell right in the middle of the Little Ice Age, a period of global cooling which happened from the 16th to 19th centuries. Prior to that time, there was a great deal of winemaking in Britain; in fact, for most of the history of that land domestic winemaking has been the norm, and if the climate allows for the growing of wine-worthy grapes there today it’s merely reflective of a return to normal."

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Coming Soon In Lafourche: The “Let That Son Of A B*tch Go Back To Mexico” Library | The Hayride

Ahhh...Lafourche Parish!


Coming Soon In Lafourche: The “Let That Son Of A B*tch Go Back To Mexico” Library | The Hayride: "“He wasn’t really against the library,” Lorraine said in a phone interview. “He might have been against the tax, but in his heart, he was for the library. If it wasn’t for Lindel Toups, they wouldn’t have a library in Gheens. The reason I went to the library is because he stood up to get a library back there. There’s a lot of things that Lindel said that maybe didn’t make sense, but the man always had his heart in everything he did.”"

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NEWS | Oil, Gas Leaders: Automation about Efficiency, Not Job Elimination | Rigzone

NEWS  |  Oil, Gas Leaders: Automation about Efficiency, Not Job Elimination  |  Rigzone: "Part of what’s great about the oil and gas industry is that it lends itself to advanced technologies and constant evolution. That’s why there’s more than one way to drill a well, to interpret seismic data, and so forth. And coming out of the two-plus-year industry downturn, many oil and gas companies are strategically finding ways to increase automation and integrating more use of digital technology. Subsequently, that changes the workforce … which doesn’t have to be a bad thing."

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Ranking The Top Personal Injury Lawyers Of South Louisiana | THE PUSH POLE

Ranking The Top Personal Injury Lawyers Of South Louisiana | THE PUSH POLE: "Ranking The Top Personal Injury Lawyers Of South Louisiana"

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NEWS | Artificial Intelligence Tool Shines Light on Oil Storage Market | Rigzone

To borrow a phrase from one of my old college friends, "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?"

This sounds like commercialization of spy satellite technology to track the movement of ...whatever...oil storage, traffic, people, etc.

Just a reminder, someone is always watching!



NEWS  |  Artificial Intelligence Tool Shines Light on Oil Storage Market  |  Rigzone: "Using a form of AI called convolutional neural networks (CNN), Palo Alto, Calif.-based Orbital Insight can detect oil storage tankers previously unknown to existing data sources. The company gathers imagery from a number of satellite partners, then utilizes cloud computing to analyze images and identify not only oil storage tankers, but traffic activity in retail store parking lots, global water reserves and agriculture. It is also used to map poverty on a regional basis."

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NEWS | BLOG: Energy Search Firm Founder Creates Website to Assist Job-Seekers | Rigzone

NEWS  |  BLOG: Energy Search Firm Founder Creates Website to Assist Job-Seekers  |  Rigzone: "In 1999, Darroh presented a plan to his church to develop a career assistance ministry program. And it took off. He ran the program for six years and helped 1,100 job-seekers get back to work. When the Recession hit in 2009, Darroh was invited back to restart the program. Fast forward a few years later when hard times hit the oil patch. That’s how JobSearchPower was created. “JobSearchPower represents everything I’ve been able to apply to help job-seekers during their job search,” he said."

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FBI axes FOIA requests by email, so dust off your fax machine | TechCrunch

FBI axes FOIA requests by email, so dust off your fax machine | TechCrunch: "Starting next month, the FBI will no longer accept Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by email. In lieu of its popular email service, the FBI suggests sending a fax or snail mail, a procedural change that has more to do with obstructing the law than a dearth of resources."

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DW MPD Retrofits: On the rise...

This is turning into a trend...surprised it hasn't been explored in detail before. My thoughts are that it was depending on waiting to ensure the risers could handle the extra pressure and service providers / manufacturers getting their equipment right for the application.

This is  the next step in overcoming challenges of difficult formations in deepwater and advancing drilling automation.

https://www.spe.org/en/jpt/jpt-article-detail/?art=2610&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTkdRMk5HVXpaREl5WVdWbCIsInQiOiJpb2NxR2wrb09QVndiTUhka0MxUTFBZGtWcFFBamFZQnNSR3pVS21wbGhIXC91Q3NKQUJqUWM5NHB4M1VCR3JTdVB6ZzlJRmo5QUtaRytGb2VoRG9lVm0wdERLN0d3TEpVTWpTVytnbzVxbFJnREVMWTVZd2M4YjRXNE55RVZOQkIifQ%3D%3D

Weatherford and Nabors form alliance for integrated drilling solutions

Weatherford and Nabors form alliance for integrated drilling solutions: "MOU states that Weatherford will bring well construction expertise, managed pressure drilling (MPD) solutions, directional drilling capabilities and drilling hardware, as well as associated software applications and engineering personnel. Nabors will bring its fleet of MPD-ready SmartRigs and land-optimized measurement while drilling (MWD) systems, together with its performance drilling software applications, automated rig equipment and proprietary control systems."

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NEWS | Digital Tech in Oil, Gas Could Reduce CAPEX by 20% | Rigzone

NEWS  |  Digital Tech in Oil, Gas Could Reduce CAPEX by 20%  |  Rigzone: "The effective use of digital technologies in the oil and gas sector could reduce capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operational cost by 20 percent and 5 percent, respectively,"

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Jeff Landry Just Dropped A Nuke On Mitch Landrieu Over Crime In New Orleans | The Hayride

Jeff Landry Just Dropped A Nuke On Mitch Landrieu Over Crime In New Orleans | The Hayride: "And this will be interesting from a political perspective. Because as we’ve discussed several times here at the Hayride, there is a well-recognized political feud going between Landrieu and Gov. John Bel Edwards – a feud which most recently manifested itself when Landrieu backed Caroline Fayard in the Senate race last year while Edwards endorsed Foster Campbell, and the two spent the primary at each other’s throats."

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The Coming End Of Elio Motors Proves That Louisiana Needs To Take A New Approach To Economic Development | The Hayride

The Coming End Of Elio Motors Proves That Louisiana Needs To Take A New Approach To Economic Development | The Hayride: "Louisiana needs to build up its small businesses instead of chasing big companies and startups. The way to do that is by making the state more business-friendly through its tax code and regulations. The state should also roll back unnecessary occupational licensing and other artificial barriers to entry for wannabe entrepreneurs. Instead of hoping that half-baked ventures like Ello Motors work out, we have to build our own future."

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John Carpenter Is Fighting With Internet Nazis Over His Cult Classic They Live

And then there's this...


John Carpenter Is Fighting With Internet Nazis Over His Cult Classic They Live: "On Wednesday, Hollywood legend John Carpenter hit back at neo-Nazis and white supremacists online who had been idolizing his 1988 cult classic, They Live, as an allegory for fighting against Jewish supremacy."

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