mustang84

The oil industry is hilarious.Ironically, I just read a thread the other day about how Greenland is warming up enough that trees will soon be able to grow along the coast and the farming season has been extended by two weeks over the last decade or so. Global Warming a Boon for Greenland's Farmers

True...I hope we don't revert back to our old ways, instead using this as a true reserve while continuing to push the alternative energy envelope. I think American attitude toward SUVs and Big Oil has changed enough that we aren't going to pull a 1990s all over again.

Town Car

Chevron hits oil in major Gulf of Mexico well Tue Sep 5, 2006 10:35 AM EDT By Mark McSherry NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three oil companies, led by Chevron Corp. (CVX.N: Quote), have successfully drilled for oil in the Gulf of Mexico's deep waters, suggesting there may be more oil in the region that already provides a quarter of U.S. output, the companies said on Tuesday. During the test, at record depths and pressure, the Jack No. 2 well flowed at a rate of more than 6,000 barrels of crude per day, Chevron said. That puts it on a par with discoveries in exploration hot spots such as the waters off Angola. With U.S. oil output in decline, big new fields are increasingly rare and oil companies are widening their search to more difficult places. Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, did not give an estimate of the field's reserves. Chevron is the operator of the Jack prospect with a 50 percent working interest. Devon Energy (DVN.N: Quote) and Norway's Statoil (STL.OL: Quote) each own a 25 percent working interest. "This is very important for Chevron, but it is more important for its other partners -- pound-for-pound, Devon gains a lot more than Chevron," said Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Fadel Gheit. "Chevron has double the interest, but it is five times the size of Devon. So if I were betting, I'd put my money on Devon, not on Chevron." Devon said its holdings in the lower-tertiary region of the Gulf of Mexico -- a bed of ancient rock deep under water -- could more than double its current reserve base of about two billion equivalent barrels in the coming years. Chevron shares rose 2.7 percent and Devon shares rose 2.3 percent before the opening bell. Chevron officials estimate the lower-tertiary region could hold 3 billion to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves, according to The Wall Street Journal. The high end of that range would boost U.S. current reserves by 50 percent. "This region is proving quite prospective. Certainly, the test well results are on the top end of most analysts' ranges," said Jason Kenney, an analyst at ING in London. Mike Wittner of investment bank Calyon cautioned that until the size of the field is known, it will be difficult to draw conclusions. He added, "It seems to be a significant find and there is still life left in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, particularly as you move into ultra-deep water." "The results of the Jack test allow Chevron and its co-owners to better understand the deliverability of the emerging lower-tertiary trend, a trend where Chevron is the largest leaseholder," said Gary Luquette, Chevron's president, North America Exploration and Production. Chevron was not immediately available for further comment. Chevron first announced the discovery of the Jack prospect in September 2004. It is 270 miles southwest of New Orleans and 175 miles offshore. Chevron said the Jack well was completed and tested in 7,000 feet of water, and more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor, breaking Chevron's 2004 Tahiti well test record as the deepest successful well test in the Gulf of Mexico. The Jack No. 2 well was drilled to a total depth of 28,175 feet. More than half a dozen world records for test equipment pressure, depth, and duration in deepwater were set during the Jack well test, Chevron said. Chevron and its co-owners plan to drill an additional appraisal well next year. Chevron said it is the largest lease holder in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and is currently developing the $3.5 billion Tahiti project, scheduled to commence production in 2008. Reuters

Has anyone noticed how they keep adding all these new features to Facebook that make it easier for people to know every little detail about yourself? Just this morning, I logged in and there's a new feature called "News Feed" that highlights everything you have done recently on facebook...posting on walls, commenting on pictures, accepting invitations, etc. Talk about stalkerish. The only feature that was cool was adding photos...everything since then has been unnecessary. There are some people that update that profile badge thing every day, making sure everyone knows their whereabouts. I haven't used it once. I've heard Facebook has ties to the CIA and that it's monitored closely by the government (example, if you list Very Liberal on your profile)...it honestly wouldn't surprise me. And even if that is all crackpot conspiracy theory, it is a fact that employers are now starting to check Facebook before they hire.

Living Colour and Hendrix definitely. I think Sevendust has a black singer, as did Thin Lizzy.

And lastly, Des Moines, IA....where I spent my summer this year for my internship. Huge insurance company city...second only to Hartford. Downtown is a mess right now because there's construction going on everywhere...a new riverwalk/pedestrian bridge, office expansions, loft conversions, I-235 modernization...it'll be nice when it's done though. Skyline from the new Martin Luther King Jr. Drive...the "pictoral" entrance to downtown from the airport 801 Grand...tallest building in Iowa and formerly tallest between Minneapolis and Denver before Omaha stole the title by 2 feet (the bastards)...same height as the Gateway Arch (630 ft) View from 42nd floor of 801 Grand EMC Insurance, Iowa's newest highrise State Capitol on the east side of the Des Moines River...downtown is one the west side One of the many loft conversions going on to attract YUPPIES back to downtown...this used to be an old warehouse.

Cool thread...I like looking at pictures of cities. Ames, IA...where Iowa State University is CY Stephens Auditorium, named Iowa Building of the Century and considered a world-class auditorium. One of my professors was part of the design team back in 1969, and I took his arch. photography class last year. The Design Building where I spend most of my time. The building is trapezoidal shaped and has a five story glass atrium sandwiched between the two parts. That thing leaks like a mother...and there was a bad construction detail done on the roof so that water runs down the walls on the INSIDE. But the engineering students get the nice new building... The Campanile that chimes every quarter of the hour

It looks ok. The front is actually pretty decent, but the rear looks kinda generic, and the C-pillar is ugly. Also, lose the spoiler...it does nothing for this car. It makes it look like something out of the late 90s with it on.

dark

At least he died doing what he loved. RIP.

I have a few friends who are the same way. One of my buddies just loves Paradise City and Sweet Child O' Mine, but try to play anything else off Appetite for Destruction (including Welcome to the Jungle) and he just turns into this lifeless, glazed-eyed zombie. I don't get it either, because usually the best songs are the ones that weren't hits, either because they were too lengthy or just not radio friendly. Everyone raves about 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake, but 'Still of the Night' kicks the pants off everything else on that album, including Here I Go Again.Another thing that bugs me are the people that can't listen to an entire song. I've been at so many parties when we were sitting around drinking and listening to music, and some good tune comes on...we listen for about two minutes and then Mr. Compulsive Song Changer goes over there and skips to the next track right as the bridge/solo is coming on. Or sometimes they won't even last that long...listen up until the first chorus, and then off we go to the next song. The last 1/3 of the song is usually the best part!

One of my friends from high school would always play "Nevermind" and "Enter Sandman" every day on a playlist of about 9 songs or so. Annoyed the F**k out of me. They were like the only two rock songs he knew about, and then following them right afterward was that rap song with the lyrics "sweat drop down by bawwwls" and "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. Worst frickin playlist I have ever heard in my life.

I like Dio...I have their greatest hits CD. My favorite songs are Rock N' Roll Children and Rainbow in the Dark. Wasn't 'Black Betty' by Ram Jam?

Kind of a cool video...a bunch of women from a blog website test drove and gave their opinions on the Saturn Sky, and every one of them is glowing. This is the type of good, personal-level PR that GM needs.

I'd say they're on a level of popularity with these bad boys:

Pontiac 1987 Commercial "Get on your Pontac and RIDE! PONTIAC RIDE!" 80s Grand Ams with the square headlights were kinda cool looking...it's just too bad they rusted out so badly.

Emo is just a new fad taking up the slack where other fads left off. I remember when I was in 8th grade up through about sophomore or junior year, listening to 2Pac and walking around with baggy ass pants that hung down halfway to your knees somehow made you cool. JNCOs I think they were called. But at least the baggy pants wanna-be thugs didn't act like complete morons. My sister, her friends, and a couple of people I knew here at college are going through their emo phase...my sister already dyed her hair black and is trying to get her lip pieced, and I'm cringing. My ex-girlfriend from high school recently dyed her hair black and got her lip and nose pierced....and she used to have beautiful blonde hair. My sister had me pick up an AFI CD for her birthday, and when I was in the checkout line some emo dude said "nice...that's a sweet album, what's your favorite song, mine is [don't remember], it's an Offspring cover, but I think AFI did a better version, this album is even better than [some other AFI album]...(more rambling)...what other AFI discs do you have?" (pause) Me: "...this is actually for my sister...I don't listen to them" (awkward silence) "...receipt's in the bag..." I'm sure Sid Vicious and all the other leaders of the punk revolution in the 1970s would be ashamed at what has become of the whole genre.

I've only heard a little by them, but the song Bat Country is a good example...maybe emo wasn't the right comparison, but his voice sounds weak. There's no depth. The screaming they did on the older albums was better, even though I usually don't like screaming in songs.

Que?

Link Highlights: Fusion sales eclipsed 15,000 mark for the month Mustang outsold everything except the F-150 in the Ford lineup...highest sales since 1979 Explorer only down 6% for the month F-Series sold 76,000 units, down from 90,000 last year Milan is now the best-selling vehicle in Mercury's lineup...4100 in August Five Hundred / Montego / Freestyle hurting "Retail business very strong at the end of the month" Car sales up 9% from July 2006, truck sales up 4% from August 2005 Car sales up 9% from August 2005, truck sales down 21% from August 2005

I picked Nickelback, but only because I don't like Pink. Never heard a song by Default before...well I might have but I wouldn't know it. I actually have Nickelback's first CD...'The State' or something...and it's ok, but I pretty much bought it for the song "Breathe." Most of the songs on there are mediocre...3 Doors Down came out with 'The Better Life' around the same time, and it was so much better. For me, Nickelback can be summed up with "heard one song...you've heard 'em all." The guy has a decent voice, but the musical compositions are so dull and boring. Someone looped two of their later hit songs on top of one another, and it was pretty much the same thing with different lyrics. Cookie-cutter rock. Now, for modern rock, Soilwork and Sevendust are where it's at. Avenged Sevenfold has some pretty good melody, but the vocalist has a weak, emo-ey sounding voice that doesn't fit with the rest of the music on their most recent album...they should've stuck with the screaming. Nevermore is awesome, and Iced Earth is probably my favorite "modern" band, even though they've been around for a little while. Ra is another good band that was popular my freshmen year in college but everyone seems to have forgotten now.

Christ, give it to somebody that actually needs a car. As much as my philosophy is about earning your keep through hard work and not handing out freebies left and right, giving cars away to celebs is just rediculous...give it to some family who's trying to put a kid through college and has a daughter who just turned 16 and needs a car. Knowing Jessica's bright persona, she'll probably total the thing because she'll get red and green mixed up at the stop light.

trauma