May 4, 2016 -- Nothing About The Bakken In This Post

Warning: I doubt this post will have much to do with the Bakken. If you came here for the Bakken, scroll down or go to the sidebar at the right, but disregard this post. 

I could not possibly be in a better mood but it might take awhile to complete this post. There are so many things going on right now that have put me in an incredible mood. It started with a wind turbine story, but I will save that for later. 

So, these are the stories that have me in a manic mood, but I've put them in a different order in which I first thought about them.

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The Apple Page

Some weeks ago I decided to get the new iPad Pro. I will get the largest screen available, and I will get the keyboard and the pencil, and it will be for my wife. I had not seen one until tonight, but I knew enough about it to know that's what I need right now. Or more accurately, exactly what my wife needs now.

On the way to Starbucks this evening, I stopped at the Apple store and played with the iPad Pro for the first time.

Oh, yeah. I'm going to get the iPad Pro before the week is out. Don't hold me to that. I have a lot of expenses but if the Master Card people give me their approval, that's what I'm going to do. I'll talk with the M/C people tomorrow; see what kind of deal we can work out. LOL.

One may want to read about Michael Hayden and his favorite gadgets, which includes the iPad Pro. Michael was a 4-star USAF general officer. He was the former director of the NSA and CIA. If you really want to read the article and hit a paywall, let me know. I will help you out. The Wall Street Journal article begins:

We’re a Mac kind of family, which had nothing to do with my view on the Apple/FBI controversy; we find that they’re a bit more resistant to attack. I just picked up an iPad Pro, which I’ve immediately fallen in love with. And I’m talking with you on an iPhone 6s. My normal rhythm in the morning is: The alarm goes off, I grab the iPad, download the CIA press clips and see what’s going on in the world. I have got the attachable keyboard, so when I want to sit down somewhere, it’s as if I’m at my workstation, even though I can easily tuck it into my backpack.

I worked directly for Michael Hayden some years ago, or at least I think I did. I really don't remember. It was in transition. He was leaving; I was arriving. Our paths crossed off and on over the years. He was a demigod in my mind, like Odysseus and/or Achilles. 

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The Environmental Page

I recently noted that I remained conflicted when it came to ocean acidification. A thoughtful reader helped me out by providing me three links (URLs) to sites that would help convince me that ocean acidification due to rising atmospheric CO2 was still a problem.

Be that as it may, one of the reasons I'm in a manic mood tonight is I've crossed the line; I've made the jump.

Growing up I used to be really concerned about endangered bird species. High on my list were bald eagles and golden eagles. Not any more.

I was going to write a lot on this, but I've decided I'm not going to. I will simply say this: if the #1 environmentalist -- POTUS -- has no concern for the eagles, I certainly don't. And that's why I'm in a great mood. I am no longer conflicted. I am put in a "bad mood" when I am conflicted, but once a problem is solved, I can move on. I used to be concerned about eagles and other endangered birds, and I was conflicted about wind turbines and bird deaths.

But no more. No more conflicts. This story tells me there are way more eagles than we realize. Obama is considering a plan that would allow unlimited bird kills. That tells me that all those concerns about endangered bird species was overkill.

This kills two birds with one stone (pun intended). First, it tells me that these birds are not endangered, contrary to what third grade teachers have been telling their gullible third graders for decades. Second, this means that oil companies have less to worry about when it comes to environmental issues: precedents are being set that oil and gas lawyers will use to their advantage.

As long as folks don't mind wind turbines going up in their backyards, I no longer care.

This is very similar to the polar bear story. Global warming and polar bears being threatened turned out to be a myth, also.

Lobsters, too. Some years ago the environmentalists said the lobster industry was dying. Whether that was true or not, I don't know. Regardless, the lobsters are back, more than ever. And I see that one can get huge lobsters at the local supermarket.

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Lamb Chops and Halibut

This past week I finally got back into cooking. It's been awhile. The first thing I did was lamb chops. They turned out incredibly good, so I "did them" again (prepared them yesterday; had them this evening).

 Lamb Chops

Last night we had halibut. It's been a long time since we've had halibut and if done right, it's incredible. My wife likes salmon best. I enjoy tuna steaks almost as much, but halibut -- I would have to move halibut into a "tie" position with salmon. I suppose I still like salmon best but tuna and halibut are right up there.

By the way, fresh halibut in this area goes for $24.99 / lb. Yesterday, our local grocer -- who probably has the best beef / seafood in the area -- had marked the halibut (and much of the other seafood) down to half price. The halibut was $12/lb or something like that. We got about 3/4 of a pound.

 Halibut

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The Political Page

After the wind turbine/bald eagle story, and the iPad Pro story, I am most excited about the November contest between Trump and Hillary.

It's going to be a blowout.

75% of Americans hate Trump.

30% of American hate Hillary.

And Trump is going to win by a landslide.

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The Weather

Summer is finally almost here in north Texas. I can now take long bike rides. I bought another bike this past month (it's on layaway and I will make the final payment at the end of the month). Today I also bought another rear red light for my current favorite bike. One cannot have too many lights when riding at night. I have three rear red lights on the bike. I will add more.

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Silver Dollars

I mentioned the other day that I am finally into buying silver and gold again. I said that I would buy a silver dollar for every "crazy" story and the wind turbine/bald eagle story means I can buy way more silver dollars this month than originally planned.

There is an excellent gold and silver / coin show every month in Grapevine. And unlike guns, there's no 72-hour "cooling off" period before taking possession of new coins. You pay your money and you get your coins with no background check.

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The Literature Page

I got a new coffee table book today: The Wright Style by Linda Lind. Perhaps more on that later, but Starbucks is getting ready to close and they're kicking us out.

Good luck to all. See you tomorrow.