Idle Rambling -- A Note To The Granddaughters

Earlier today, a reader sent me a comment about that story of a Californian company suggesting they've found an economical method of converting natural gas to liquid fuel (gasoline / diesel). The California company said they had $30 million in seed money / venture capital. The reader suggested this was all hogwash, and explained why. I really appreciated that. I don't follow the industry so his/her comment was much appreciated. But this was the key point he/she made: $30 million is a pittance, or something to that effect. $30 million? That represents three (3) slickwater wells in the Bakken, and today there are about 200 active rigs drilling in the Bakken (200 x $10 million = $200 billion).

His/her comment certainly put things into perspective. [I suggested Elon Musk might be a silent partner in this scheme. LOL.]

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A Note to the Granddaughters

What a morning!

Miserable, miserable five-mile bike ride to Starbucks this morning. The ride was beautiful. The hayfever was miserable. The trees have started pollinating in this part of the world, and my allergies are miserable. Couldn't stop sneezing for half-an-hour once I reached Starbucks. Coffee really helps. I don't take any medication for my severe hayfever allergies. I would not take any medication while in the US Air Force with one exception: over in Germany when we had 3-day exercises in our chemical warfare gear. If it was "hayfever season" I would take Benadryl; it's hard to wear a gas mask when sneezing. Ha. But that was it. Benadryl also made it easier to fall asleep while wearing my gas mask.

I remember as a 6 y/o out in fields northwest of Williston, about two blocks from where I grew up, the weeds were taller than I was, and the hayfever was incredible. As incredibly bad. We didn't have ObamaCare or health insurance that I know of. I never thought much about it. My eyes were swollen, I was sneezing up a storm, and yet I played in the weeds, loving the outdoors. I would come home, and I know it bothered my mom but life went on.

Sometime in middle school, maybe earlier, I started taking sub-cutaneous injections, immunotherapy for allergies. Without a doubt, it helped. Without that, my allergies would be worse, no doubt. To save money, our physician (was it Dr Koch at Craven-Hagen?) taught my mother how to give the "hypodermic" injections and she injected the medicine every week or so during the summer. At home. Medically-legally this would not be allowed in this day and age. An anaphylactic reaction at home would not have been a pretty sight. But that's the way it was. To save money, mom sterilized and re-sterilized the needle until the needles became so dull they were almost impossible to pierce the skin. I remember some of those jabs; they didn't really hurt. I just felt bad that mom had to go through this experience; didn't really bother me all that much, though I never looked forward to the injections.

Looking back, I feel bad for my mom having to save money that way, but she's never talked about it. I wonder if she ever thought about it. Probably not. Raising six kids, she had more than just my allergies and me on my mind. It was just one of those things. My favorite line growing up, "This, too, shall pass." And, invariably, it did. Even middle school with Mr Privratsky as our gym "instructor." Using the term loosely.

But I digress.

At Starbucks, to compound the miserable hayfever, I couldn't get connected to wi-fi at Starbucks. That happens occasionally. My hayfever cleared. I left Starbucks to go to Barnes and Noble where they also have wi-fi. And my hayfever started up all over again as soon as I stepped outside.

But it's clear now.

I dread the bicycle ride home. Well, not really. I enjoy the ride. The hayfever will be miserable. It will be interesting to see if it maxes out somewhere along the 5-mile trip. I've always maintained that at some point, the allergens so overwhelm the system that the body can't react much more. Of course, there's no scientific basis for that, but I'm ever-hopeful.

Our newest granddaughter: