Thursday -- January 8, 2015; EPA Delays Coal Rules But No Date Provided (Probably After President Obama Leaves Office); Post-Modern Science -- "Fake But Accurate"; EU Sending Russia $2.1 Billion To Pay For Natural Gas For The Ukraine

Initial production numbers for wells coming off confidential status today have been posted. 

Perhaps the best two minutes of reading you can do today: The Coyote Blog. For me, perhaps the two best blogs I stumbled across early were The Coyote Blog and Bakkenshale. It is very, very unfortunate/sad that the latter is no longer with us; it was perhaps the best among the Bakken blogs. But I digress (again); here is the blurb over at The Coyote Blot that caught my attention.

If you want post-modern science in a nutshell, think of the term "fake but accurate." It is one of the most post-modern phrases I can imagine.  

It means that certain data, or an analysis, or experiment was somehow wrong or corrupted or failed typical standards of scientific rigor, but was none-the-less "accurate."

How can that be?  Because accuracy is not defined as logical conformance to observations.  It has been redefined as "consistent with the narrative."  She actually argues that our standard of evidence should be reduced for things we already "know." But how do we "know" it if we have not checked the evidence?  Because for Oreskes, and probably for an unfortunately large portion of modern academia, we "know" things because they are part of the narrative constructed by these self-same academic elites.

Kemp: Bakken oil prices nearing 2008 - 2009 lows.

UAE oil minister says oversupply may last months, years. Reported by Reuters at Rigzone. Note the minister's internal inconsistency in these quotes:

"Depending on the actual production growth from non-OPEC countries, this problem could take months or years. If they act rationally, we can see positive corrections during 2015."

Mazrouei also said the UAE would not panic over low prices and the market would eventually stabilise itself, adding that low prices would not delay the country's plans to boost its output capacity to 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2017.

Active rigs:

	1/8/2015	01/08/2014	01/08/2013	01/08/2012	01/08/2011
Active Rigs	166	193	181	200	163

EPA delays CO2 rules until President Obama leaves office. Link here. 

The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday it will postpone finalizing new rules for carbon dioxide emissions.

The new rule will affect coal burning plants across the country.

[A spokesman] expects the EPA's new rule will be implemented in 2017 with lower carbon dioxide emissions standards phased in by 2030. [Update, January 11, 2015: EPA says rules will be out mid-summer, 2015.]

Jobs: the numbers without the spin at this link. (Monthly unemployment report comes out tomorrow.)

Initial jobless claims fell 4,000 in the January 3 week to 294,000, helping to pull down the 4-week average slightly to 290,500. The average is trending about 10,000 lower than the month-ago comparison which points to steady improvement underway in the labor market.

Data on continuing claims, which are reported with a 1-week lag, are mixed. Continuing claims in the December 27 week rose a sizable 101,000 to 2.452 million but the 4-week average fell 17,000 to 2.397 million. This average has been steady around the 2.400 million mark since late November. The unemployment rate for insured workers is unchanged for a fourth week at a recovery low of 1.8 percent.

Natural gas fill-rate: -131

The big story is that current storage now hits the mid-point of the 5-year average. Scroll to the graph at this link.

RBN Energy: final in a 9-part series on Canadian diluent. "If Canadian oil sands survives the current slump in prices, there will be adequate diluent for the Canadian western oil industry."

ONEOK has new presentation. The PDF is linked here.

GE should buy National Oilwell Varco -- writer, SeekingAlpha. See Disclaimer.

The EU to send $2.1 billion to Russia to pay for natural gas for the Ukraine -- the Russian winter is coming. -- This is actually being reported in The Moscow Times. 

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Apple

GE, no gee, I seem to have just written a note regarding Apple yesterday, and now a new record for Apple: a half billion dollars spent on apps in one week (remember, after Christmas mobile devices activated? 51% went to Apple). The AP is reporting:

Apple said Thursday that its App Store customers set a record for billings by spending nearly half a billion dollars on apps and in-app purchases during January's first week.

It said New Year's Day was also the single biggest day ever in App Store sales history. Apple Inc. said billings climbed 50 percent in 2014 and apps produced more than $10 billion in revenue for developers. The company launched the App Store in 2008.

The store has more than 1.4 million apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users in 155 countries. Apps are available in 24 categories, including games, social networking, photo & video, sports, health & fitness, travel and kids. 

This is no longer about "cool." This is about "real." This is about functionality and convenience.

By the way, another typical Apple story. Apple is turning its retail stores in "fine art museums": 

Apple is turning its retail stores into art galleries featuring the work of professional photographers and other artists who use iPads, iPhones and Mac computers to create.

Travel photographer Austin Mann used an iPhone 6 to take otherworldly panoramic photos of an Icelandic glacier. Mann, who recalls mowing lawns for a summer as a 7th grader to save up for his first, bright green iMac in 1998, says his use of an iPhone and high-end cameras is "split pretty even" when it comes to professional work.

"In the photography industry especially, when you are getting started you are always seeking gear, 'If I could only get this $1,000 lens,'" he says. Using just an iPhone to take great photos encourages people to "shift away from focusing on gear and equipment."

Apple commissioned the work of 12 artists at various stages of their career to create works meant to inspire. Showcasing the people who use its technology — in this case, painters, photographers, filmmakers and other visual artists — is a shift for a company long focused on making its products front and center.

The artwork, done on iOS devices and Macs using various apps, is displayed on Apple's website as part of an ad campaign called "Start something new." And the Cupertino, California-based company is replacing all product signage in its retail stores with the artwork. Some of the artists are gathering Thursday evening at 6 p.m. at Apple's SoHo store in New York to talk about their work.

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29-Hour Work Week

The AP is reporting:

The measure would increase the definition of a full-time worker who must be offered health coverage at work to 40 hours from the current 30.

A similar bill cleared the House last year with the support of 18 Democrats but died in the Senate, which was then under Democratic control.

Republicans argue the health law's 30-hour requirement is encouraging companies to cut workers' hours. They cited a study by the conservative Hoover Institution that says 2.6 million Americans making less than $30,000 a year are most at risk of having their work time and wages cut as a result of the 30-hour rule. Of that group, it said 63 percent are women and over half have a high school diploma or less education.

But the White House said in a statement there is no evidence the law has caused a broad shift to part-time work, and said the new measure would create incentives for companies to shift employees to part-time work.

It pointed to an estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office that the bill would boost federal deficits by $53.2 billion over a decade.

LOL. The Obama administration is worried about federal deficits. $55 billion over 10 years is $5 billion; a rounding error in US debt.

I heard this on the news earlier; I was surprised. It warms the cockles of my heart. I noted the 29-hour week back in 2012, and was blogging about it on a regular basis; I even have a tag at the blog, the "29-Hour-Work-Week."

I don't think mainstream media ever took on this story; now that it's in a bill, we will see lots of stories and lots of debate.

Obama will veto it and then we will see how many Senators are willing to risk re-election on voting to support Obama and ObamaCare.

For the record, I no longer care; it's political theater. I don't recall if I ever cared.

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Global Warming

Ice Age Now

It Depends Where You Place Your Thermometers

Chicago arctic blast continues; near record, now snow
Mobile, AL, freezes; beats 1886 temperatur of 18 degrees
New Orleans temps plunge to historic lows
Teams to fight frigid air in Green Bay (Dallas), New England
Governments warned to plan for "climate change" migrants (remember, they are fleeing two feet of water rising on their beaches; and they have a century -- 100 years -- to prepare for it -- that's the worse case scenario -- if you believe the hype):

Sea level rise of 19 cm (8 inches) since 1900, caused by factors including a thaw of glaciers from the Andes to the Alps and of Greenland's ice sheet, aggravates storm surges in many coastal regions, according to the U.N. panel of climate experts.

The panel's scenarios point to a further rise of 26 to 82 cm by the late 21st century. The panel says it is at least 95 percent probable that human activities, led by burning of fossil fuels, are the main cause of warming.

82 cm/2.54 = 32 inches.

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At Least It's Hard To Catch

By the way, the measles outbreak in California was predictable.