Commentary: Direction Of The Blog -- October 17, 2018

I started the blog in 2007, deleted it in 2009, and started over that same year.

I started the blog to better understand the Bakken. For some reason I had the feeling that the Bakken was going to be "different" than previous oil boom and bust stories. I knew nothing about "oil," and my intention was to simply track the Bakken on Microsoft Word documents and Xcel spreadsheets, but about the very same time, the USAF required that I learn how to set up a website.

So, there you have it.

Along with the Bakken there were a number of other energy stories and non-energy stories that interested me from the stand point understanding the issue. I posted on political issues because such issues are important to put things into perspective. I follow the US equity market because "following the money" often explains things that otherwise don't make sense.

I assume the blog will not change much but there is a possibility that I will blog less on some energy stories and will blog less on some non-energy stories. I can't think of anything "new" about which I would like to blog.

So, at 9:09 a.m., October 17, 2018, this is where I stand with regard to the blog:

• hopefully my emphasis on the Bakken does not change; I've met my objectives for starting the blog in the first place; my reasons for continuing the blog have changed; it's less about understanding the Bakken and more about simply chronicling an incredible story; the Bakken never ceases to amaze me; I hope I live long enough to see Bakken 3.0;
• other than the Permian, the other shale plays, including the Eagle Ford, interest me not, but I will update periodically if the news is important enough
• global warming: it's a political issue and pretty much no longer interests me; my blogging on global warming will probably decrease over time
• politics: hard to say where I will go with this; Trump has proved that America can be great again; we've seen how fast a dynamic country like American can turn under the right leadership; whether the general public accepts that and re-elects him (if he runs again) is "their" problem; I've lost interest; following the Clintons and the Trump story has taught me a lot about parsing sentences and learning the definition of one-syllable words
• in the energy sector what interests me most is the yawning and incredibly increasing gap between energy-rich and energy-poor countries. I think Europe is in a world of "hurt," and it will be interesting to follow that story
• Russia doesn't interest me except as it affects Europe
• Greece absolutely, positively does not interest me
• Saudi Arabia is absolutely fascinating; the rest of the Mideast, yawn
• global warming: it's a political issue and pretty much no longer interests me; my blogging on global warming will probably decrease even more over time; oh, I already said that
• future of wind energy: depends 100% on politics; no longer an economic or science issue; I get it; interests me not; ditto, solar, but even more so; 
• EVs: fascinating; will follow simply to see how this plays out; won't affect me; will affect my granddaughters
• Apple: generally only interested during earnings season; company's technology is evolutionary, no longer revolutionary, but I hope that changes
• Bakken 3.0: I've been struggling to "define" Bakken 3.0 -- but it finally hit me -- perhaps it was a note from a reader last night -- Bakken 3.0 will begin with the new USGS Bakken survey (which is way overdue)
• notes to the granddaughters; travelogues; books; social media; US "culture" -- that's what I really love to write about -- even more than the Bakken -- but I've found that "personal" blogs are enjoyed by generally only one person: the writer

It's now 9:29 a.m., October 17, 2018: that's where I am.

More later, perhaps.

Demes and memes.