Sunday, October 30, 2016

Update On GE - BHI -- October 30, 2016

Link here to The Wall Street Journal. New entity would be publicly traded, GE controlled. $30 billion deal. Could create a company with $25 billion in revenue.

Look What They've Done To My ... Why I Love To Blog -- October 30, 2016

World Series Vs Sunday Night Football

Cleveland could close it out tonight and then on NBC it's NDSU's Carson Wentz for the Philadelphia Eagles vs the Dallas Cowboys.

So which game do I watch (both, lots of "back and forth" on the remote)? Who do I root for in the football game, Carson Wentz or Dallas Cowboys?

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For the World Series, I'm neutral. Although I would like to see it go another game. 1 - 0, top of the 4th. Wow, wow, wow. Chicago has come alive. Bases loaded, bottom of the 4th with one out; and Cubs lead 2 - 1. How can I go ever switch back to see Dallas? Chicago still hanging on, 3 - 2, top of the 7th. Without question, this is what makes America great -- the 7th Inning Stretch -- and the singing -- wow -- did "they" do it right tonight. Tears in my eyes. I'm thinking of the guys in Afghanistan / Iraq who are watching this game tonight/their morning -- and really knowing the important things in life. Regardless how it goes, Chicago folks can be proud of their team tonight -- and their city. And the crowd goes wild. Chicago wins. On to game 6. Wow. Fans going wild.

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With regard to the NFL, it's a no-brainer: the Dallas Cowboys. Cowboys started strong, but now looking sluggish, behind 13 - 10, and Eagles look ready to score again. In that fake punt, in which Dallas Cowboys punter ran about 40 years, Jerry Jones (owner of the Cowboys) looked genuinely happy. Good for  him. Cowboys now playing like they don't to lose; late in the third, Dallas behind 20 - 10.  Somehow got to a tie game. In overtime. Wow, wow, wow: Witten wide open; defenders collided into each other; Witten runs to far side of end zone -- on the TV screen, these is absolutely no one in the area. Dallas QB himself needed to scramble; the result was that the "delay" gave Witten extra seconds to go to the far left, and at same time, defenders run into each other, taking them out of the play. I was sure the Cowboys were going to lose this game early in the third quarter and thought this was going to be quite a feather in Carson's hat to have taken on and defeated the Cowboys. Tony Romo must be getting really, really eager to jump back in.

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Update On GE - BHI

Link here to The Wall Street Journal. New entity would be publicly traded, GE controlled. $30 billion deal. Could create a company with $25 billion in revenue.

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The Sweet Spot

For several months now I have opined a number of times on the blog that for the US, the sweet spot for the price of oil is $46 to $52 or something like that, maybe $48 to $56, somewhere in there.

So, now, this evening over at CNBC, "why an analyst thinks we've just entered the 'sweet spot' for oil prices."

I haven't read the article. So, now I can read it. And not much there, except this:
"There's probably a sweet spot between $50 and $55, but I think we're setting ourselves up for some sort of a disappointment at the OPEC meeting," explained Tom Kloza on CNBC. "I think the language is probably going to be thoroughly bullish. They'll pay lip service to some sort of a freeze."
$50 to $55 is certainly not going to help Saudi Arabia much. So, we'll see.

Look What They've Done To My Song, Melanie Safka

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A Note to the Grandchildren

I've never understood the "importance" or the "significance" of the title of one of Shakespeare's comedies, A Midsummer's Night's Dream, until tonight, while reading Gerhard Herm's The Celts. There are many definitions of the seasons.

At the time of the Celts, May 1 -- the first day of May -- was the day they took the cattle up to the mountain meadows -- it was the first day of summer. The midsummer was the solstice -- June 22, or thereabouts. From wiki:
The Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr St John the Baptist, and the observance of St John's Day begins the evening before, known as St John's Eve. These are commemorated by many Christian denominations. 
In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been serious discussions to make the Midsummer's Eve into the National Day of Sweden, instead of June 6. It may also be referred to as St. Hans Day.
Apparently in the 16th century, in England, midsummer was an incredibly important day, important enough that Shakespeare titled a play after the date. 

While stationed overseas, I remember well the days we went up in to the Alps, saw the little "chalets" and the importance of taking the cattle up to the mountain meadows for the summer.

"Alp" is a Celtic word: it gave the mountain range its name, but it also refers to the mountain meadows to which the cattle were taken.

A Bio -- November 22, 2016

The following was sent to me by a reader. I do not the origin of this. FWIT.  [I used an "old" post to place this "bio" -- that's why it shows up at being posted October 30, 2016. In fact it was posted at 5:46 a.m. Central Time, November 22, 2016.

Donald John Trump, was born June 14, 1946.

He will be 70 years old on election day.

From the Internet, he is 6'2" or 6'3' and weighs between 195 and 200 lbs. He has a full head of blond/brown hair (which is long and elaborately combed) and blue eyes. The Internet tells us he wears a size 12 shoe.

Donald Trump was born the fourth of five children who were born over eleven years. The oldest, Mary Ann, was born in 1937 and is currently a Federal Judge. His older brother, Fred Jr, died in early adulthood as a result of complications from alcoholism. He has another older sister, Elizabeth and a younger brother, Robert.

Donald Trump has been married three times. Trump's first wife, Ivana, was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia and a divorcee who has been married 4 times in her life. She is a lifelong avid skier and worked in design at the Trump Organization. Marla Maples, Trump's second wife is an actress and model Trump's third wife, Melania is an immigrant from Slovenia (born in Yugoslavia) and has been a super model.

Two of Trump's children, Donald Jr. And Ivanka, have gone to Penn. Son Eric, went to Georgetown.

Donald Trump tells us that he is Presbyterian. Donald Trump does not appear to have had any interest in occults, mysticism or exotic mythologies. Donald Trump's oldest daughter, Ivanka, and her three children are Jewish.

Trump's oldest daughter, Ivanka, is married to Jared Kushner who is, among other things, a newspaper publisher. The Kushner family is very successful in New York City area real estate.

Donald's grandmother, mother, first wife, and third wife are all immigrants. Donald Trump was born and raised in Queens, NY.

Though his family was very wealthy, Trump's boyhood home in the Jamaica Estates section of Queens was not a grand mansion. The Trump home was a larger version of the homes Fred Trump built for his tenants. There are no indications that the Trump family lived among the wealthy elites on vacations or country clubs. Queens is the largest of New York's five boroughs and the most ethnically diverse. Trump attended a local private day school, the Kew Forrest School, in Queens until about 8th grade. His secondary schooling was at New York Military Academy which is about 60 miles north of NYC in Cornwall On the Hudson.

He was in class of 1964. Trump was never a Preppie." Trump never embraced any aspect of the "Hippie" movement of the time. Trump was a very good high school athlete - football, soccer, and especially baseball. He had potential to become a professional baseball player. Even in high school - Trump liked women and women liked him. Trump was generally popular in high school. Trump's boarding school room mate liked him.

He attended Fordham University in NYC for two years and transferred to the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. At that time, the Wharton School offered a rare program for Real Estate Business.

Though he was of age, Donald Trump did not serve in Vietnam. He was not drafted due to bone spurs in his heels (4F) and also student deferments. Ultimately, in the draft lottery, he drew a high number.

By all we know, Donald Trump does not smoke, drink or use recreational drugs. He'll be the first president in more than 25 years who hasn't smoked weed.

BTW: Trump's children do not smoke or drink. Trump makes it well known that he enjoys sexual interaction with women. I am unaware that Donald Trump is a recreational gambler. His doctor publicly announced Donald to be in excellent health. I think that to really know Donald Trump, you must know his family background. The Trump family story is a very American story. Trump family history - concise version. Donald Trump's grandparents immigrated to the U.S. From Alsace (Kallstadt, Germany) which throughout history has been alternately French and German. The Trumps are German, originally speaking the same German dialect as the Amish of Lancaster County, PA.

His maternal grandparents lived in Scotland.

Freiderich (Drumph) Trump made a small but respectable fortune in the late 19th Century in the mining boom towns of the American Northwest. He returned to Germany to marry his childhood neighbor, Elizabeth Christ. The newly married Trumps resettled in the Borough of Queens NY. Freiderich was establishing a real estate business in Queens when he died suddenly at age 49 (1918).

In 1920, at the age of 15, Fred Trump (Freiderich's son and Donald's father), started a business partnership with his widowed mother called Elizabeth Trump & Son. This business was built upon the real estate holdings that his father, Frederich, had amassed (worth about $500,000.00 in today's dollars). This is the original "seed money" of the current Trump Organization.

Elizabeth & Fred remained close business partners her entire life (she died in 1966). In 1936 Fred Trump (age 31) married Mary Ann MacLeod (age 24) of Stoneaway Scotland. During the depression, Fred Trump built and successfully operated a supermarket (a new concept at the time) which was sold to King Kullen Co. which operates to this day. Fred Trump made a lot of money building housing for the military during WWII.

Fred Trump was investigated by the Justice Department for making "excessive profits" from government contracts. All (or nearly all) of the building of Elizabeth Trump & Son's non-government building was residential property in Queens.

Fred Trump died in 1999 (age 94) - beloved and worth between $250 million and $300 million. His wife died a year later.

"The Donald's" career Donald Trump is the greatest career achiever of the "baby boomer" generation. Donald Trump has reached the zenith in his careers as book author, TV entertainer, sports entertainer, real estate developer, Donald Trump has authored more than 18 books. At least one of them, The Art of the Deal, was a top seller. Donald says that the Holy Bible is his favorite book. The Art of the Deal is his 2nd favorite book. And The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale is his third favorite book. He likes golf.  [I believe he has said his favorite book is the Bible.]

Donald Trump has developed more than 11 golf courses which bear his name.

Donald Trump has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award. Donald Trump has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Donald Trump has been inducted to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Donald Trump has appeared in more than a dozen movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander, and Little Rascals. Donald Trump has been a guest actor in more than 6 TV shows such as Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Days of Our Lives, Sex and the City, and others. Trump has been the executive producer of 7 TV shows. Trump has been the guest host of 5 TV shows such as Extra, Larry King Live, and Saturday Night Live and more. Donald Trump has been co-producer of the longest running reality TV show.

Donald Trump performed in several WWE wrestling shows. Donald performed in Wrestlemania 23 which set attendance records and revenue records up til that time. In his first candidacy for public office, Donald Trump received the most popular votes for the President of the United States out of a field of experienced and successful politicians. And in most cases, he achieved this with less money than any of his opponents.

Keeping in mind that 90% of start-up businesses fail, Trump's record of enterprise is nothing short of amazing. Donald Trump has enjoyed success in at least 11 very different enterprises: professional football, ice skating rinks, fragrance, ice, steaks, wines, model management, airline, blenders, men's wear, bicycle races, world class beauty contests, and many others. In some of these, such as model management, his firm has risen to the top of that particular industry. There are 31 buildings that bear his name. The largest private real estate development in New York is Trump Riverside.

Drive down the Henry Hudson Blvd. - you can't miss them. There are at least 12 Trump Towers. There are at least 6 Trump Plazas. There are at least 11 Trump Golf Course developments And much, much, more in real estate. Trump Entertainment, casinos and resorts was recently sold to Carl Ichan. Donald Trump's personal managing of the Wollman Ice Skating Rink project in the early 1980's is the quintessential case study for MBA students in Wharton, Harvard, and other business schools. His performance there was phenomenal. Donald Trump's privately held businesses have employed more than 200,000 people.

In the casino business in Atlantic City, Trump had to do business with known mobsters and he stayed "clean" and alive. Aside from his personal investments, Donald Trump has never been a Wall Street "player".

The Political Trump:
  • about 1967 - 1987 - Democrat (he was a supporter of Ronald Reagan) 
  • 1987 - 1999 - Republican 
  • 1999 - 2001 - Reform Party (he supported Ross Perot) 
  • 2001 - 2009 - Democrat 
  • 2009 - 2011 - Republican 
  • 2011 - 2012 - Independent 
  • 2012 - Present - Republican Donald Trump was openly supportive of Mitt Romney's candidacy
Donald Trump does not seem to hold political party organizations in high Regard. For the most part, his political involvement has been for practical reasons. Donald Trump does not appear to be held to political ideology.

Some of the take-aways (from those who know him): Trump has an extraordinarily energetic central nervous system much like Teddy Roosevelt, but more targeted to industry and enterprise. Trump's presidency will be very energetic, transparent, and communicative.

Trump will be a very hard working President. His interaction with his older brother (who everybody loved) tells me that he thinks that everybody is His relationship with his older brother was a hard lesson in tolerance for him. Trump is the Babe Ruth of career achievements. He is dumb like a fox.

When you think he just said something stupid - he didn't. It's just that you were not his target audience. Trump knows the people - the folk. His son, Donald Jr. is right. Trump is a "Blue Collar Billionaire".

More than anything, his TV show, The Apprentice, was his passion. He wants all Americans to have confidence (like he does) to venture. Donald Trump is attracted to and marries smart, high achieving women.

The highest levels of a Trump Administration is certain to have many women - and they will be bright and assertive. Donald Trump's children are very important to him. And it shows.

PS - Now you know a heck of a lot more about Donald Trump than you know of our current president with 2 terms in office.

Siemens Gaining Ground In Germany -- October 30, 2016

Just a few days I asked whatever happened to Siemens. I had not heard from them recently. Today Penn Energy reports:
Direct-drive wind turbines from Siemens are gaining ground on the German market: Siemens has now received five orders for 23 of these state-of-the-art wind turbines. Two of the wind power farms are situated in Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, while the other three are to be erected in Lower Saxony. Installation of all five projects, comprising anywhere from one to eight of these gearless units each, is to be completed by the spring of 2017.
The first Siemens model SWT-3.3-130 wind turbine to be installed in Germany is to be erected in Schleswig-Holstein by the end of this year in the municipality of Südermarsch near the town of Husum. This unit that Siemens is installing for Südermarsch Wind GmbH & Co. has an 85-meter hub height on a steel tower and a rotor diameter of 130 meters designed to operate in moderate wind speeds and deliver a rated electrical generating capacity of 3.3 megawatts (MW). Six other wind turbines of this model make up the Damme Wind Farm project being erected near the city of the same name in Lower Saxony. Owing to the wind conditions at this site, however, Siemens will install the units on steel tube towers with a hub height of 135 meters. Both projects are scheduled to go on line by the end of this year.

CLR To Report A Nice Well Near Williston On Monday -- October 30, 2016

Saturday, October 29, 2016:
  • 31999, SI/NC, BR, CCU Zephyr 14-34 TFH, Corral Creek, no production data,
  • 32619, SI/NC, XTO, Johnson 31X-6FXG, Siverston, no production data,
Sunday, October 30, 2016:
  • 30315, SI/NC, Hess, EN-Weyrauch C-154-93-2932H-10, Little Knife, no production data,
  • 31357, 1,102, CLR, Nashville 2-21H, Catwalk, 40 stages, 8.7 million lbs, t6/16; cum 94K in less than four months;
Monday, October 31, 2016:
  • Boo-hoo! None.
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31357, see above, CLR, Nashville 2-21H, Catwalk, producing:


DateOil RunsMCF Sold
8-20162535027615
7-20162733330365
6-20162718728747
5-20161291812572
4-20165860


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Note to the Granddaughters 

Wow, talk about another great Sunday. Many, many moving parts.

Grammy May and Kiri and Sophia are watching Arianna at the second day of the two-day north Texas water polo tournament up at Denton, TX. Arianna's team won the first game by a lopsided margin, lost the second game. Arianna's dad, Josh, is at work.

I drove Olivia to her Olympic Program Development soccer practice up in Carrollton. Wow -- they said it was a "hole-in-the-wall" venue. Maybe. If you consider multiplex movie theater complexes "holes-in-the-wall." This was a huge venue where Olivia will be practicing her soccer skills. It is incredibly impressive.

Meanwhile, I returned home because I have two crock-pots going -- brisket and vegetables. Getting prepared for tomorrow's night "Boos and Brews" in the neighborhood. More on that later.

Then the final seconds of the Seattle - New Orleans game in which Seattle might actually pull this off. (Nope -- not to be: NO held on. Incredible game.)

And, then, of course, the highlight of the day: NASCAR at Martinsville.

The aroma of the brisket is incredible.

And I'm reading The Celts b Gerhard Herm, c. 1975. This is the third time I've read this book. It makes even more sense now that I've read Helen of Troy and the story of the Frisians -- the Edge of the World. Lots of stuff to talk about with Arianna.

Thank goodness for the remote control.

Do the Dallas Cowboys play today? Yup, tonight. Wow.

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Everthing's Bigger In Texas

There are large eggs. There are extra large eggs. And then there are Texas large eggs.

These are Texas egg cartons stacked up alongside I-35E north of Dallas waiting to pick up Texas medium-size eggs for Waffle Houses Monday morning.



You should see the free-range chickens that lay the eggs.

Nice Overview / Update Of The Bakken -- Grand Forks Herald -- October 30, 2016

New e-mail disclosure and the fact that the FBI is re-opening its investigation is having no effect on the polls, at least the USC-Los Angeles Times poll. It's now been long enough for that story to have impacted the polls if it was going to, but it hasn't. In addition, Drudge says this new e-mail revelation is not trending. Pundits say this will be difficult for Huma to be part of the next administration. Whom are they kidding. That which does not kill us makes us stronger. If Hillary is elected, Huma will be by her side.



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Back to the Bakken

Active rigs:


10/30/201610/30/201510/30/201410/30/201310/30/2012
Active Rigs3470190182185


Bakken economy
Lunnen Estate Real Services an industrial real estate development and brokerage company along with their partners have acquired 83 acres adjoining the Dakota Access (Energy Transfer Partner's) crude oil gathering Trenton Terminal West of Williston in Williams County to add to their 1804 Industrial Park. This acquisition will expand the park to over 200 acres of heavy industrial land intended for crude oil storage and ancillary oil companies around the terminal.
"Next week" begins today. Will we see news of a newly formed energy company made up of bits and pieces of GE and BHI today? From a couple of days ago, this story for those who missed it. From MSN/FT just a couple of hours ago (October 30, 2016, 2:50 p.m. Central Time), this story, data points:
  • GE has these core competencies: oil & gas; power generation; renewables; aviation; and, healthcare
  • those core competencies are called the "GE Store"
  • GE shares have fallen by "a tenth" due to prolonged agony of GE's oil and gas equipment business
  • GE looking to its "oil and gas business" with BHI, and then later spin out the larger unit
  • so there you have it: GE and BHI would not merge; rather GE "spins off" its oil and gas business and let that business merge with BHI -- is that right? is that the sequence? this will be fun to watch
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Bakken Primer / Update

Nice overview of the Bakken in The Grand Forks Herald. For newbies, Grand Forks is on the opposite side of the state of North Dakota, about 300 miles east. It's been my impression that once one gets east of Minot, many North Dakotans are unaware of the positive impact of the Bakken. This story provides some nice data points:
  • each oil well contributes about $300,000 in sales tax revenue alone (memo to self: compare with a wind tower)
  • more than 900 DUCs yet to be brought on line; they will add more than a quarter of a billion dollars in sales tax revenue to the state budget
  • the oil industry provides 15% of the state's jobs; raised per-capita personal income from $26K (2000) to almost $60K (2013)
  • in 2000, ND ranked in bottom ten of the US states in terms of GDP; by 2012, it ranked #2 
  • 11,200 Bakken wells; more will be added; as more wells added, the number of related jobs increase
The 30 active rigs will drill about 600 new wells each year -- enough to maintain one million bopd, in my opinion, but way down from the 2,000 wells/year we saw at the height of the boom -- but remember, they were drilling as fast as they could in the beginning of the boom -- just like a typical gold rush: folks were staking their claims. Oil companies needed to drill a well in every drilling unit to hold their lease by production. Economics mattered, but holding claims mattered more.
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The Kennel

The Williston Herald has a story on the growing Williams County jail. Perhaps they should have converted some of the man-camps to more jail cells. LOL. By the way, the new "cell blocks" remind me of the "original Halliburton man-camp east of town; the "cell blocks" are being manufactured in Georgia (US, not Russia).

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Sunday Morning Coming Down

Preparing brisket and vegetables. They will be slow-cooked in separate slow cookers. I am comparing a 6-qt Crock-Pot, side-by-side with a 7-qt Black & Decker. Hands down, I prefer the Black & Decker.


The brisket will undergo several more trimmings to remove the fat. After it has cooked, I will remove the rest of the fat, which comes off easily once cooked. Some folks remove the fat during the cooking process to further decrease the amount of fat in the final incredibly delicious product. 


The potatoes and carrots will be cut down to size.