Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns In All The World, She Walks Into Mine; The Decision Has Been Made: The Keystone XL Will Not Be Approved By This Administration -- Tea Leaves; And It Never Rains In Southern California

What a great evening. All caught up with my blogging, and then I saw another great story on the Keystone XL 2.0 North.

But first this. Rigzone is reporting:

The Dutch government announced Friday afternoon that production from gas fields in Groningen province will be reduced over the next three years.

The move has come after earthquakes recorded in the north of the Netherlands have become more intense and more frequent in recent years. Residents, environmental activists and politicians have blamed onshore drilling in the area.

In a statement sent to Rigzone, the Dutch government said it has decided that production in those areas most at risk will be reduced by 80 percent during the next three years. In addition, limits will be placed on total gas production from the Groningen field so that output will reduce to 42.5 billion cubic meters in 2014 and to 40 billion cubic meters in 2015. In 2013 production from the Groningen field reached nearly 54 billion cubic meters.

The government has also agreed to make $1.6 billion available to reinforce homes and other buildings and strengthen infrastructure in Groningen province.

Is it just me, or is a decrease from 42 billion to 40 billion all that much of a decrease? And that was from 54 billion cubic meters last year. The big decrease will come in 2016, it appears, when they have to get down to 10 billion cubic meters. On another note, the media, including The New York Times, try to associate fracking with these Dutch earthquakes. In fact, they are not fracking in the Netherlands.

Groningen was discovered in 1959; it is the largest natural gas field in Europe; it is the 10th largest in the world. "Closing" this natural gas field is not trivial but it turns out that enough natural gas will continue to be produced to meet the needs of the Dutch.

The Keystone Update ... as if it matters

Now, back to the Keystone story. The decision has been made: the Keystone XL 2.0 North will not be approved by this administration. At least that's what the tea leaves reveal. The AP via Rigzone is reporting:

Brushing aside pressure from Canada, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the United States will not be pushed into making a decision on the long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline.

At a joint appearance with Canada's foreign affairs minister, John Baird, Kerry said he has not received a crucial environmental report on the $7 billion pipeline, which would carry oil from western Canada to refineries in Texas.

At the linked article, Kerry says he hasn't received the "crucial" environmental report -- no doubt it is being edited at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. If Kerry hasn't gotten the "crucial" environmental report by now, there's no way he can read through it before November 7, 2014.

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I wasn't going to post this story until I remembered the great song that could be posted. USA Today is reporting: 

"All I can report to you is it's not raining today and it's not likely to rain for several weeks," Brown said in a news conference in San Francisco. On Thursday, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center forecast below normal precipitation for two-thirds of California through April.

Mr Brown went to on to say that it never seems to rain in southern California, but, girl, don't they warn you?

Brown's proclamation allows California to request a broad emergency declaration from President Barack Obama, which would expedite some water transfers, provide financial assistance and suspend some state and federal regulations.

The situation in most of California and northern Nevada is extremely dry, according to the most recent report Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a federal website that tracks drought nationwide. Almost 99% of California is considered abnormally dry or worse; almost two-thirds of the state is in extreme drought.

2013 became the driest year on record in California; San Francisco had the least rain since record keeping there began during the gold rush of 1849.

Just for the record, Mr Brown never said "it never seems to rain in southern California." I made that part up.

It Never Rains in Southern California, Albert Hammond

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A Note to the Granddaughters

I have often remarked that men become more romantic, more sentimental as they age. Women, just the opposite. With age, women become more careful, more circumspect, more cautious in their relationships.

I saw it again tonight during my monthly viewing of Casablanca.

Every time I watch this movie, I see something new, or hear a different line. Tonight, I was captivated by the way Rick and Ilsa looked at each other when they first saw each other at Rick's, and listened carefully to what they said and how they said it. He was incredibly romantic, sentimental; she was cool as a cucumber, as they say.

It's hard to believe they were acting. 

Wow, I love this movie.

CasablancaPlay It, Sam