What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

“What the Dog Saw” by Malcolm Gladwell is an interesting compedium of articles that look at common things in depth and often with a different point of view. They sometimes cover phenomena that have counterintuitive explanations. If you are reader of the New Yorker magazine you may have already read some of the articles. He has a talent for making some of the most mundane subjects interesting. For example he describes why we have many varieties of mustard but only one taste of ketchup and the role of hair dye in American post World War 2 history. Gladwell writes about people who are trying to solve the homelessness instead of managing the problem and why most people don’t like how that could be done.

This is a very well written and researched book and a pleasure to read and very thought provoking book. Malcolm Gladwell has a smooth and flowing writing style. I give it four stars out of five.

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Rango with Johnny Depp

The Yogi’s went to see the animated movie “Rango” last week.

I don’t really know how to tell you succinctly what the movie is about. It is is set in the dry and dusty west. Johnny Depp plays a newcomer chameleon who goes up against the powers that be. Wikipedia has a pretty good description of the movie.

The movie is marketed toward children but there are lots of references that I don’t think kids would get plus it has some scenes that are kind of scary. SuperPizzaBoy is twelve and I don’t think he cared for it. Toward the end of the movie he leaned over and told Sweetie and I, “I can’t believe this is a kids movie!”

So, he gives it a 1.5 rating out of five. I loved the movie. I give it 3.5 out of five.

A Convergence of Birthing Babies, Hydraulic Fracturing, and High Pressure Multistage Centrifugal Pumps

Noon Sunday I got on a plane to fly down to San Antonio for the annual Gas Processors Association Convention.

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On the way down I glanced out the window as we flew west of Fort Worth. The clouds were all lined up like they had been plowed.

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What the hay!! I exclaimed, here is a closeup:

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What are all those white dots on the ground in amongst the subdivisions? Those are gas wells, lots of them, as far as the eye can see. It then it came to me. It is the Barnett Shale. One of the biggest natural gas fields in the United States. Companies are going in and drilling horizontal gas wells and with the magic of hydraulic fracturing they are producing massive quantities of natural gas. Now I know this is all very controversial and I’m not going there. I’m here to talk about how all that relates to birthing babies.

Anyways, I was perusing the vendor booths at the convention and I came across an interesting device. Look at this:

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Isn’t that cool. It was being given away for FREE by a manufacturer of High Pressure Multistage Centrifugal Pumps. I couldn’t believe that they were given our national secrets away for free!! You see the key to hydraulic fracturing of natural gas formations is very high pressures. The technical term in Oklahoma is you have to pressure the bejeezus out of the rock. Anything short of bejeezus is a dry hole.

To do this you need what in Oklahoma is called a “Big Ass Pump.” Well guess what, they don’t have those things sitting on the shelves at the local Walmart waiting for you to come in and pick it out like a can of spam and a box of crackers. Noooo, you have to order it, you have to get in line, behind the big boys, behind the CHINESE for goodness sake.

So here is how it works, you walk up to the booth and tell the salesman that you want one of those there big ass pumps. He tells you that it takes about 26 weeks. So, like in the photo above, you put the zero line on the current date and you look at where 26 weeks puts you.

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It puts you on October 3. So that gives you plenty of time for you to get your well drilled and ready to frac. If you order today! If you order tomorrow, it’ll be October 4. So you better commit.

Now, say your wife calls you, and says that she thinks she is expecting, in fact she knows she’s expecting. You just ask her how many weeks since her last period. You add 40 weeks to that date:

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Wow, January 8th, so you now you have plenty of time to order your pump, drill your well, fracture it, and paint the nursery. Isn’t technology amazing!!! What did our parents do?

Pearl District Run

We had a real nice day the other day so I went on an noontime run from my gym in downtown Tulsa. First thing I ran into as a big temptation:

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Don’t worry, I resisted temptation, I don’t think they were open anyway. I decided to just generally head east and see where the force moved me. I have to tell you, I’m glad they were closed. It made my decision easier. I kept on running and meandered into a not very nice part of town and came upon an abandoned storage yard with this gatepost.

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Tulsa used to be the Oil Capital of the World and there are little reminders like this everywhere you turn. I’m kind of wondering if things aren’t returning a little bit. Oklahoma companies like Chesapeake, Devon, and Continental are really leading the pack in the horizontal drilling and fracturing of shale gas nationwide. Right now, I’m thinking about a drilling rig themed geocache near here. There are lots of guys (and gals) who grew up in  Broken Bow, Elk City, Vici, Cheyenne, Barnsdall, Clinton, Apache, and other Oklahoma oil towns drilling wells or building pipelines all over the world.  But that is another post. Lets get back on track.

I kind of veered to the left and right as the force led me and I found myself in front of this building.

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I’ve never heard of Hooper Brothers Coffee Company. What drew me close was the raised brick signage. Turns out that it is a landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. This building is all over the internet. Who would know? They actually made coffee there until 1961. I don’t know what is going on now but I do know that this section of town is crying for a geocache. What do you think?

Tulsa I244 US75 Intersection

Have you ever got to a crossroads and had to make a decision? I decided to head further east into the Pearl District. A cool but depressed area just east of downtown Tulsa.

It has got some great looking store fronts. I can imagine shops, restaurants, bars,and studios.

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There are some entrepreneurs who are defying the national economic downturn and trying to make things happen. ( I have to tell you that I find that brickwork above to be beautiful, and the windows and doors.)

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Can’t you see a parade out front with people on the little balconies watching? I know, I’m going crazy. But I’m seeing a lot of potential.

They have a long ways to go, it will be interesting to see how far they can go. The rest of my route I veered here and there to avoid the winos, panhandlers, bums, and broken glass and eventually ended back at the gym. I decided that I need to get off my regular routes more often.

Do you ever get off your regular routes? Tell us about it.

My World

666BOI is Dead, Long Live 666BOI!!!

I got the official notification from the State of Oklahoma today.

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The State of Oklahoma has officially executed my alter ego 666BOI.

(I stole this image from Irritated Tulsan. Sorry)

For high crimes and misdemeanors. 666BOI and I had a good run. He and Sweetie never got along for some reason. He was very close to his spiritual mother, Baloney, of That’s Baloney. She created 666BOI although ever since she has denied it, out of a sense of modesty I’m sure. She will be devastated by the news of his passing.

Sweetie is trying very hard to hide her grief. Actually she seems to be doing a happy dance. We all deal with our grief in our own way.

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This is what the State sent as a replacement. I should be able to remember my new number don’t you think.

I’m going to miss old 666BOI. sniff.