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Sunday, July 5
by
Energy Issues
on Sun 05 Jul 2009 09:52 AM CDT
Saturday, July 4
by
Energy Issues
on Sat 04 Jul 2009 09:43 AM CDT
My Brother Jack was born on July the Third and he and I loved fireworks. We both wanted to be soldiers and we practiced war our entire childhood. Because of our obsession my favorite holiday, and my Brother Jack’s, was and is the Fourth of July and the one I remember best is the first one that I can remember. While growing up in small town Vivian, there were no City ordinances barring the use of fireworks. Every manner of explosives was sold including M-80s and Two-Inchers. Jack and I are both lucky to have all our digits as we later experimented with everything we could strike a match too. My buddy Timmy Jon and I even mixed our own batch of gunpowder and almost burned up the house with it. The first Fourth that I can remember, however, we made do with firecrackers, bottle rockets, sparklers and Roman candles. On the Fourth of July my Mom and Dad would buy us about ten dollars worth of fireworks. Ten bucks doesn’t sound like much but you could pop lots of firecrackers for that amount in the sixties. We always began the fireworks as soon as it was dark enough. I don’t remember my age but I was old enough to feel the excitement of impending danger. With our Dad’s help we began lighting sparklers, popping firecrackers and launching one bottle rocket after another. We soon got down to the good stuff. ‘Hold it in the air and shake it,” My Dad directed as he lit my first-ever Roman candle. I can still remember the percussion and slight recoil as incandescent flame burst from the coiled-paper barrel of the explosive device. I couldn’t count at the time but I had a seat-of-the-pants feel for how many fiery rounds the candle contained. When it was over I held the warm rod in my hand, inhaling acrid smoke and burned powder. It was an odor I will never forget. My red-headed Brother Jack was next at bat and he had mischief in mind before my Dad ever lit the candle’s fuse. My Mother was standing behind us in the open door of our house. Soon as the candle started spitting fire, Jack began pointing it at anything that caught his fancy - a tree, the family car, me, and finally toward the open door of the house. Dodging the oncoming fireball, my Mom screamed and jumped off the porch. Jack put at least three fireballs through the house, luckily catching nothing on fire. When he finally threw down the spent Roman candle my Dad just shook his head, grabbed the remaining fireworks and walked into the house. Mom followed him, but not before unloading verbally on Jack. Nothing much else was ever said about the incident, Mom and Dad giving Brother Jack the benefit of the doubt that what he did was caused by inexperience and lack of good sense. After living in close proximity to him until I was fifteen, I know better. He went to sleep that night giggling about scaring my Mom and Dad and getting away with it. The Fourth of July means a lot more to me than just fireworks and hot dogs and we should all reflect on the sacrifices this wonderful holiday immortalizes. Still, my favorite holiday remains the Fourth of July and the one I remember best is the first one that I can remember.
by
Energy Issues
on Sat 04 Jul 2009 09:25 AM CDT
I found a treasure trove of my Mom’s old cookbooks when my Brother jack and I finished packing the last of Mom and Dad’s possessions before selling the house. She was always trying new recipes and used brother Jack and me as test subjects (I won’t say guinea pigs). We liked almost everything she cooked – except the prune pie she once made for us. She had a tendency to pencil a little check mark beside recipes she particularly liked. Here is one that had two check marks beside it: Oatmeal Crispies
Mix butter, sugar and eggs. Mix in baking soda, salt and flour. Mix in rolled oats and raisins. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto baking pan. Leave room for cookies to spread. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Enjoy.
Friday, July 3
by
Energy Issues
on Fri 03 Jul 2009 10:16 AM CDT
An interesting article, especially for a Louisiana boy like myself. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090629-mississippi-river-sea-levels.html Thursday, July 2
by
Energy Issues
on Thu 02 Jul 2009 09:43 AM CDT
Wednesday, July 1
by
Energy Issues
on Wed 01 Jul 2009 08:07 AM CDT
We experienced the “Summer of Love” in 1969, along with It was early July and I waited in Many in My first well was a 17,500’ wildcat, just outside of The drilling rig was big and noisy, but I was not destined to see the well through its total depth. Instead, I drove to While young hippies were smoking dope, cavorting around with no clothes, and listening to rock music, I spent the “Summer of Love” on an assortment of noisy drilling rigs from Five months later, I was married, drafted into the Army and training for a traumatic trip to
Tuesday, June 30
by
Energy Issues
on Tue 30 Jun 2009 03:04 PM CDT
Natural gas production falls as operators cease drilling because of depressed prices making it uneconomic. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=aqhTLXECUJTk
by
Energy Issues
on Tue 30 Jun 2009 07:25 AM CDT
Monday, June 29
by
Energy Issues
on Mon 29 Jun 2009 06:03 AM CDT
Sunday, June 28
by
Energy Issues
on Sun 28 Jun 2009 09:36 AM CDT
An interesting development. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31548588/ns/business-world_business/ Saturday, June 27
by
Energy Issues
on Sat 27 Jun 2009 11:22 AM CDT
I love cheese balls and found this recipe on the back of an Underwood Deviled Ham wrapper. I haven’t tried it yet but the recipe sounds yummy, and Marilyn promises she’ll whip up one for Father’s Day. I can hardly wait!
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except sunflower seeds. Refrigerate until firm enough to handle. Form into a ball and roll in sunflower seeds. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes one large cheese ball. Friday, June 26
by
Energy Issues
on Fri 26 Jun 2009 07:29 AM CDT
Our company having fallen into bankruptcy at the end of the last oil boom, Anne and I traveled to cities all over the There were so many houses foreclosed in Our banking leads exhausted, we began looking for a "white knight" investor, someone that would inject some much-needed capitol into the company. Anne and I did not know such a person but we knew someone that did. Harold (at least this is the name I am giving him for this story) is from Alligator, A fiction writer with the world’s greatest imagination could never create a fictional character as interesting as Harold is. If I were inclined to write a biography, I would write Harold’s biography because he is perhaps the single-most interesting person that I have ever met. He knew a possible “white knight” in Harold booked us at the Monteleone Hotel, a wonderful place on Royal, just a block from Mr. X (a very real person) lived in a million dollar shotgun house on the end of Harold introduced us to Mr. X, a friendly man with dark Cajun hair and eyes and a long black moustache. He had a manservant that I will call Hay-sus. Hay-sus could not speak English but he knew how to mix drinks. Mr. X started talking and we listened, and drank, all day long. A one-time banker friend (surprise, surprise!) had apparently ruined Mr. X. They were now bitter enemies. Mr. X told us hours of interesting stories, but we never got a chance to state our case but he did take us back to the Monteleone for dinner. He was allergic to seafood and did not like steak so we had enchiladas at the restaurant's Mexican restaurant. There was a troupe of Mexican singers and Mr. X paid them probably a thousand dollars, at a hundred dollars a pop, to sing various Mexican songs. Harold's girlfriend left sometime during the night (he was hell on relationships!) so we met at the Monteleone’s Carousel Bar the next day for drinks before flying back to OKC. I got so drunk and disoriented that I could hardly walk out of the place. Anne and I never found a “white knight” and our company’s bankruptcy stood, our hopes and dreams struck down like so many tin soldiers. Thanks to Harold, though, we had an experience almost impossible to believe. It is now but a memory and I am passing it on, albeit in an abbreviated version. Someday I might write Harold’s story, but it should really go straight to the big screen because I’m positive it would break all attendance records.
Thursday, June 25
by
Energy Issues
on Thu 25 Jun 2009 07:07 AM CDT
Studies show that it is possible to generate enough electricity to supply the world by wind alone, but it is still more expensive than burning coal or natural gas. A most interesting article. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1906507,00.html?cnn=yes Wednesday, June 24
by
Energy Issues
on Wed 24 Jun 2009 07:28 AM CDT
A risky geothermal energy project in Switzerland, funded in part by Google (yes, Google!) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/business/energy-environment/24geotherm.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Tuesday, June 23
by
Energy Issues
on Tue 23 Jun 2009 07:47 AM CDT
Gas field discovery in Norway. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPQH8ybXTHH4 Monday, June 22
by
Energy Issues
on Mon 22 Jun 2009 10:47 AM CDT
Sunday, June 21
by
Energy Issues
on Sun 21 Jun 2009 09:48 AM CDT
Saturday, June 20
by
Energy Issues
on Sat 20 Jun 2009 10:10 AM CDT
My wife Anne, like myself, was a boxing fan. When she was alive, we often hosted fight parties for many championship-boxing events. There was always lots of beer. Our friend Ray immortalized in my story Chicken Fries would always bring brownies. Dave, my friend who sold me my first motorcycle would bring his famous sausage balls. Later, when times were tight, just Anne, Dave and I would get together for a fight. One fighter we never missed was Mike Tyson. Tyson, at the time, was still young and going through opponents like an I do not remember much about the evening, or the fight, except that Buster Douglas connected with Tyson’s jaw and knocked him clean out. I also remember Dave’s sausage balls. This week, Dave was kind enough to send me his sausage ball recipe. Here it is and I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did. Basic Version 3 cups biscuit mix (Bisquick or similar type mix) 1 lb. bulk sausage ½ lb. grated Cheddar cheese Combine the sausage and cheese first, then add the Bisquick mix until the mixture will hold together, mix thoroughly with hands (or spoon, easier with hands), mixing is easier if the sausage is warmed slightly in a microwave first. The amount of Bisquick mix used to hold the whole thing together will change as you change the type of sausage used. Now, form mixture into balls (about a ping-pong ball size), a perfect ball shape is not important, in fact it is better if formed into odd shaped imperfect balls. You can freeze you balls for baking later or bake now. I like to bake now and freeze for heating later in microwave. Place balls on non-greased bake/cookie sheet and bake in over at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, but check after 12 minutes. That is the basic recipe, now for the Cajun version: Cajun Version 3 cups biscuit mix (Bisquick or similar type mix) 1 lb. bulk sausage (sausage can be any type you like, as long as it can be broken up and mixed with the other ingredients, I sometimes use hot sausage) ½ lb. grated Cheddar cheese (extra sharp cheddar cheese is the best to use) From now on, you are on your own to add what ever floats your boat, some of my favorites are: 1 nice sized onion - chopped Several cloves of garlic - chopped I sometimes put several drops of Then mix, bake as above and enjoy.
Friday, June 19
by
Energy Issues
on Fri 19 Jun 2009 08:35 AM CDT
I left Texas Oil & Gas in 1978, intent on becoming a successful independent oilman. Practically broke, I had little more than the false bravado of a young man that had never tasted defeat, well, maybe a little. My recent divorced following a seven-year marriage had left my ego slightly dented. I was either too young, or too stupid - maybe both - to worry much about failure. My first six months as an independent oilman, I went through every penny of my savings, meager though they were. I got by, somehow, with a mortgage on my motorcycle - a Triumph Bonneville - and a thousand dollar loan from my new girlfriend. To say that I succeeded because of perseverance would be a lie. My departure from paycheck security exactly coincided with the Arab Oil Embargo of 1978. Before 1979 ended, I was rolling in dough, and firmly convinced that I was the smartest geologist there ever was. I was not merely a participant in the last oil boom; I lived and breathed it. Do I have stories? Well, let us just say I could write a book about it. Here is just one story: John, my partner from “Someone told me you boys are prospect generators. I am returning to We both shook our heads. “We don’t have anything this moment.” “Please, I’m a desperate man. Surely you have an idea, or something.” John spoke slowly, with a distinctive The stranger pulled out his checkbook and proceeded to write us a check for a thousand dollars. “If this lease is open, I’ll give you another four thousand dollars, and drill a well. If it hits, I’ll assign you a 3.125% override.” With that, he disappeared, with the napkin, down the hall to the elevator. A week later we received a check in the mail for four thousand dollars. The man’s company drilled the well and it came on for 140 BOPD, ultimately producing around 60,000 BO. Yes, this is a true story and such was the rock and roll world of the last oil boom. We thought that it would never end, but it did. I was a multi-millionaire by thirty and dead broke by forty. I came though the ordeal bent but not broken. John became a lawyer. I stuck it out, continuing as an independent geologist, sometimes making a big kill, but mostly barely surviving. Along the way, I began putting my thoughts on paper, at first just to vent my frustrations. I soon learned that I had a passion for the pen that has never abated. Yes, I lived the last oil boom. I can tell you stories you would not believe, and maybe someday I will.
Thursday, June 18
by
Energy Issues
on Thu 18 Jun 2009 09:55 AM CDT
I, for one, am not complaining. http://blogs.epmag.com/rhonda/2009/06/12/can-we-really-complain-with-70bbl-oil/ |
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