Off The Net For Awhile -- July 14, 2015; Australia Slams Door On Wind Energy

The granddaughters have another full week and a few days remaining in their southern California vacation. However, for a number of reasons (all good), I am getting into the minivan in a few minutes -- after completing this note -- and making some sandwiches -- and starting a leisurely trip east.

I plan to head towards Grapevine, but could change plans and head north to the Bakken (unlikely). More than likely I will get back to Grapevine before returning to the Bakken later this autumn.

From southern California, the granddaughters will fly to Kentucky to see their other grandparents, so I won't be seeing them for another three weeks or so. That will really be tough on me, but something tells me they will really enjoy their days with their grandmother -- they just left to visit Little Tokyo for the rest of the day. May is half Japanese and the granddaughters love Little Tokyo.

I hope readers continue to send me articles while I'm on the road; I will eventually get to all the e-mail. I generally respond to all e-mail, but when traveling, perhaps a bit less often.

The biggest delay will be in posting comments/replies over at the Discussion Group.

Breaking news, tweeting now: Saudi-backed forces seize Aden airport in sudden advance against Houthi fighters - @Reuter.

Gas prices for least expensive regular grade, San Pedro: $4.49 / gallon.

Market closes up.

WTI up slightly.

CSX beats forecasts.

Active rigs:

	7/14/2015	07/14/2014	07/14/2013	07/14/2012	07/14/2011
Active Rigs	73	193	186	215	178

Top story in Los Angeles Times: deal may strengthen Iran. Well, duh.

Los Angeles Times: NAACP wants Confederate carving removed from Georgia's Stone Mountain.

And we will end with this, smartest man in the room:

Australia has slammed the door shut on any new government-funded investment in renewable energy schemes as Prime Minister Tony Abbott extends his “war on wind power”. The new directive banning investing in existing wind technology will also apply to small-scale solar projects. In doing so Mr Abbott has sent a clear message to the mendicant green renewable energy sector that there will be no more cheap state-supplied financing for its projects. The funding ban is just the latest salvo in the government’s attacks on the renewable energy sector which also includes small-scale solar projects.

He's gonna be re-elected by a wide, wide margin.

Australian Road Trains

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At Least It's Hard To Catch 

This is very concerning: it's baaacck! Reuters is reporting:

A Liberian woman has died of Ebola in a hospital in Monrovia shortly after being admitted, becoming the sixth confirmed case of the virus since it resurfaced last month after a seven-week lull.

Her detection raised fears that the infection may be spreading in a new area of the country.

A health report sent to officials in the anti-Ebola response said that the woman died a few hours after admission, indicating that surveillance of known contacts from the earlier cases had not been rigorous enough.

More than 11,200 people have died from Ebola since the epidemic began in December 2013. Liberia was declared Ebola-free on May 9 but reported a new case nearly two months later.

Health officials say the virus probably remained latent in the country during that period and could have been reactivated by a survivor, via sexual transmission.