Mega-Loads No Longer Allowed On State Roads In Idaho -- This Chapter Closed -- January 31, 2017

This was a big story six years ago when COP and XOM obtained permits to transport massive pieces of oil refinery equipment to the Canadian tar sands.

No more.

Story over at PennEnergy.

Good, bad, or indifferent: oil companies now have clear-cut rules.

From the article, regarding State Highway 12:

The highway runs through the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest and along the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River and its tributary, the Lochsa River. Both rivers are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

The Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Rivers United and the legal group Advocates for the West sued the U.S. Forest Service in 2013, saying the federal agency had a duty to regulate the giant shipments. In response, a federal judge ordered a halt to the megaloads while the lawsuit worked its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, declining oil prices reduced demand from companies seeking to use the highway for megaloads.

Justin Trudeau no doubt supports this.

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Management 101

How To Surround Yourself With Best People

From: Scott Adams.

The smartest person I know told me that the secret to business success does NOT necessarily involve hiring the right people. We just think it does. 

The real secret to success is firing the people that you discover to be the wrong fit until eventually you END UP with the right people. No one is psychic enough to do hiring right every time. Job applicants are good at misrepresenting themselves. But a good leader knows which employees to fire and does it quickly and humanely.

Trump fires well. We saw him fire campaign managers as needed to restaff for each phase of his campaign. Lewandowski was perfect for the scrappy first months. Manafort was the right campaign manager to get Trump through the nomination process. And Conway was the right pick as his closer.

Apparently Sally Yates was not the right fit. LOL.

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Word For The Day: Cuirassiers

The Private Lives of The Impressionists, Sue Roe, c. 2006

Cuirassiers: armed cavalry; armed, shielded (breastplate, sometimes a backplate); made "famous" during the Napoleonic wars (1870); pistols displaced the lance; and eventually, swords displaced the pistols, the latter becoming secondary to the former.  

Sophia's word/phrase for the day: flying horse.