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Saturday, September 23, 2023

Circular Firing Squad — September 23, 2023 — Asteroid Day — Seriously

Locator: 45565AUTOS.

When I watch the Nissan, Kia, Toyota, Honda ads this weekend, my immediate thought: UAW and F, GM, and Stellantis in a circular firing squad.

American consumers aren’t stupid. A 40% pay raise for current workers and a 60% pay raise for recent hires is a non-starter, at least for me. And apparently Ford is capitulating. 

That’s fine: I have no plans to ever buy another Ford. Having said that, I loved our Ford Focus of many years ago. One of the best cars we ever had. 

Ford’s biggest concern? Tesla, Toyota, Honda, VW, BMW, Mercedes.

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Brilliant

In case you didn’t notice, Busch is advertising Modelo, not Bud Lite. 

Brilliant.

Hopefully Busch is not relying on “trans” influencers hyping Modelo, the #1 beer in the US. Needs to be fact-checked.

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Today: September 23rd

September 23rd commemorates the anniversary of the Asteroid City impact in the film. The town celebrates a holiday called Asteroid Day on September 23rd. This is another direct connection to reality, where the UN-sanctioned Asteroid Day is observed each year on June 30. 

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A Musical Interlude


Imagine your movie being so stacked that Margot Robbie and Edward Norton were not in the trailer.

Best thing since Amish buggies: buying movies on-line. Not renting. Buying. To rent: $3.99. To own: $8.99. This is not rocket science. Asteroid City was rocket science.

The three witches “make” the film. Pandora, Cassiopeia and Andromeda.

Jock Larking.

What is Wes Anderson working on now? Link here.

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In Trouble

Target, Disney.
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Not In Trouble

Peter Davidson.

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Life’s Disappointments

My biggest disappointment: all those folks who don’t subscribe to the best website on the internet.

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3

Wes Anderson, Woody Allen, David Lynch.

I Just Tuned In — Is This Today’s Game? Not A Replay From Years Ago? September 23, 2023

Locator: 45564SPORTS.

42 - 0.

End of 3rd quarter.

OMG.

Oregon trouncing Colorado.

The Oregon stats are going to look amazing.

NPR on Deion Sanders.

Does Colorado drop out of top 25? Does Oregon move up?

Final: 42 - 6.

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NCAA Football

Wow, some great games today.

Now: Texas vs Baylor. Stadium standing room only!

High on my list: female trainers.

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NASCAR

Bubba Wallace has pole position this weekend.


Lost In Translation -- Construction To Begin In 2023 -- Nope, That's Not What "We" Said -- September 23, 2023

Locator: 45563GTL.

Question? Whatever happened to that greenfield GTL plant planned for Trenton, ND? I really don't know. Construction was slated to begin in 2023. Link here.

From the Williston Herald, January 13, 2023, the project remains on track. Archived.

A multi-billion-dollar gas-to-liquids (GTL) complex slated for construction in Williams County remains on track, according to a Cerilon GTL ND spokesperson. The Canadian company reportedly was provided $9 million in combined loan assistance from the ND Department of Commerce and Williams County.

In 2021 it was reported Cerilon received a $6 million no-interest loan, authorized by Williams County commissioners, to construct a GTL plant in Trenton.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company also received $3 million in capital from the North Dakota Development Fund, as announced by Gov. Doug Burgum and the state's Department of Commerce more than two years ago.

A 2021 press release issued by the governor's office stated "construction will commence in early 2023" on the Trenton-based plant. However, a Cerilon spokesperson recently clarified that financing for the project is not expected to be completed until 2025, which means groundbreaking will not occur before then.
"We're just in the middle of engineering and won't be breaking ground until 2025," Cerilon Sustainability and Engagement Director Rochelle Harding said.

"The project is progressing as planned with engineering and permitting work underway," Harding wrote to the governor's office in an email provided to the Williston Herald.

"Cerilon is establishing commercial arrangements and financing for the facility with a targeted Final Investment Decision (FID) in mid-2025," Harding wrote. "Construction is expected to start in 2025 with commercial start up in 2028."

A Nov. 2, 2021 Williams County press release made clear the $6 million regional "loan proceeds are intended to be used towards engineering, licensor input, engineering surveys, project specialists' inputs, project service providers and reports related to the project."

Williams County Commissioner Steve Kemp (District #2), a supporter of the project, stated in 2021, "Not only is this an incredible opportunity in itself for a GTL plant to operate in Williams County, but it sets the stage for future industrial and petrochemical development."

As proposed in 2021, the Williams County-based Cerilon plant is expected to produce products derived from natural gas including an estimated 24,000 barrels per day of ultra-low sulfur diesel and possible military-grade jet fuel.

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Speaking Of GTL

Each amino acid has a DNA code consisting of three codons, made of up "G," "T", "A," and "C."  [RNA varies slightly.]

So, for example:

  1. glycine: GGT, plus others
  2. tyrosine: TAT, plus others
  3. glutamine: CAA, plus one other

A "mutation" occurs when a letter changes that changes the amino code.

So, for example, if one was writing a story about the GTL plant and mistakenly googled GTO ... well ... you know where this is headed ... to a musical interlude ...


If the Beatles had not shown up and messed things up we certainly would have had a "Chevy Nova SS" song.

Tech Notes -- Septermber 23, 2023

Locator: 45561TECH.

Color me impressed:

Other tech stories from Reuters today:




For the archives
. This is most fascinating. I've thought about it often. What does happen if "this renewable thing" doesn't pan out? China is not waiting to find out. China continues to set records for importing coal. Also, it's an old story but China is building a lot of new coal plants to generate electricity ... to charge all those Apple iPhones. 

Anticipation -- Nothing About The Bakken -- September 23, 2023

Locator: 45560B.

I do think my current non-Bakken posts are generally not as good as they once were -- back in 2009  - 2011. 

I don't have much time for blogging this morning -- got a late start -- I slept in and then Sophia has a soccer game later this morning.

Wow, traffic was heavy biking into Starbucks this a.m. Easily three or four opportunities for a "bike-meets-car" story. Knock on wood:

  • I bike very, very safely;
  • I have a sixth sense when it comes to anticipating what a driver might do
    • comes with 60 years of biking
  • but still, there are always surprises.

I mentioned earlier that I'm reading a great book on horse racing, Lexington. Some dots to connect. Brought back many great memories of my time / our time in England. While overseas we did "everything.". With perhaps one exception. We lived a stone's throw -- as they say -- from the Newmarket race tracks. We were in the village of Newmarket many weekends, and saw the horses but never took in the races. Big mistake. Just to check off that box, if nothing else, but no real regrets in the big scheme of things. 

As a family, we were stationed in England for three years, 1986 - 1989, if I have my years straight. And then between 2002 and 2004 I was sent back to England for temporary duty for various stretches of time. I came close tallying another full year in England over those couple of years -- I may have the dates wrong. I may have been there off and on through 2006, but I would have to check my journals. [When someone says they "don't recall," I give them the benefit of the doubt.]

So, when I have more time later today / later this evening, I will post something about horse racing. 

Back on February 26, 2010, I wrote this (from another blog):

When I was temporarily stationed in England on multiple occasions several years ago, I spent a lot of time walking in the evenings and on weekends. I often walked from RAF Menwith Hill Station to the nearby villages of Dacre or Summerbridge.

Invariably I walked past a small fenced enclosure with a black mare. She was a beautiful horse and I always wondered why she was always alone. I never saw another horse with her, and I never saw a person with her.

I imagine that many years earlier a father brought home this horse as a gift for his beloved daughter. And now that daughter has grown up and moved away.

I imagine that the horse is lonely and the father lonelier. I wonder where the young woman ended up. I wonder what stories the young woman could tell about her love for her horse. My hunch: she has moved to London, is very successful, in a big corner office with windows, and dreams of being back in Yorkshire with Blackie.

If I could write, one of my first essays would be about this horse and the girl who rode her.

Oh, yes, it's soccer season. A couple of girls the age of Sophia have just come into Starbucks. It appears they have not yet played their game today.

By the way, for the archives, Sophia's older high school sister -- the one whose team took Texas state championship in soccer last year -- coaches a boys soccer team, boys, 10 years old. She also refs.