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Saturday, December 9, 2023

FCS Championship -- Update Overnight -- Saturday, December 9, 2023

Locator: 46268SPORTS. 

Tag: “depends on context.”

Updates

UPenn president resigns. University stood to lose $100 million. Next? Harvard’s Claudine Gay?

X-37B: Pentagon’s super-secret drone to launch Sunday night on huge SpaceX Falcon. 

Apple: watch for iPad sales. Link here.

Spotify’s CFO is out.

L4S: Faster internet? Maybe. And Apple involved. Link here.

Shohei Ohtani: signs for $700 million. LA Dodgers. Wow, there are times I wish I still lived at 605 Prospect Avenue, South Pasadena, California!!! Such an innocent time. Such exciting times. Wow, this brings back many memories.  One of many links here. Ohtani comes up with innovative idea allowing LA to fill out its roster!! Shohei Ohtani rhymes with “show me the money.”

Football: holy mackerel — at the half, NDSU clobbering USD, 35 - 3. NDSU, unranked; USD, ranked #3. Could USD come back to win? All of a sudden, things are getting exciting! Nope, early 4th quarter, looks like a rout. Fargo to Missoula: 14 hours. Fargo to Billings: 8 hours. Don’t even think of an EV unless you want to make it a several-day trip. All of a sudden, the Montana game is huge next week. For newbies: Division I football.

Original Post

Reminder: one today plus two = three Saturdays until Christmas. Christmas Eve, December 24, 2023. Saturday, December 23, 2023, is going to be huge, especially in the malls in southern California. 

Great 1000-piece puzzle or still life painting:

Now back to college football. Three games today, including the three Dakota teams: UND, SDSU, and USD.

Last night:

My predictions: see comments -- hope I have this right -- if not see -- comments from reader ---

  • top bracket: NDSU vs USD; winner (prediction): USD {Wrong! Huge NDSU win.}
  • top bracket: Villanova vs SDUS; winner (prediction): SDSU
  • bottom bracket.  UAlbany vs Idaho -- winner (prediction (UAlbany)
  • semis (prediction, updated):  NDSU vs (2) Montana;  winner (prediction): Montana
  • semis (prediction: (5) UAlbany vs (1) SDSU; winner (prediction): SDSU
  • Championship (prediction):  Montana vs SDSU: winner (prediction) SDSU

Like Cher And Cockroaches, These Projects Will Never Die -- December 9, 2023

Locator: 46267RAIL.  

Disclaimer: in a long note like this there will be typographical and content errors along with factoids and personal opinions.

Updates

December 26, 2023: must have been a slow news the day after Christmas -- MSN re-posts this same story. Biden announces, distribution of $8 billion to two bullet train projects in California ahead of 2024 -- in anticipation of a presidential election year.

Original Post

From today / overnight, your tax dollars at work:

More than $6 billion is going to high-speed electric rail projects in California. President Joe Biden made the announcement today in Las Vegas.
The money is slated for two different projects, one connecting Las Vegas and Los Angeles and another linking Bakersfield with Merced. LOL.
Supporters hope the billions of dollars will get the high-speed rail system back on track.
More than $3 billion is set to help build nearly 175 miles of track between Bakersfield and Merced. In 2008, Californians gave the green light to the 500-mile project, which promised to carry passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in under three hours on a fully electric train traveling at speeds of up to 220 miles per hour.

For folks living in North Dakota who do not understand the geography of California, a high-speed train from Bakersfield to Merced would be similar to a high-speed train from Williston to Stanley. Without the fruits and nuts.

The $3 billion will go a long way in bridging the funding gap.  



$130 billion.

Buffett is always looking for a big opportunity. Warren Bufffett's cash hoard:


Ukraine, to date:

Black Friday, consumer spending:

Isn't it time for California to simply transfer the entire bullet train project (LAX to SFO) to Elon Musk's RailroadX company? The project will be completed by 2026 and will come in under budget. The only downside: having to read all those mean tweets.

LA to LV:

From The [London] Guardian:

Unlike California’s rail effort, the Las Vegas project is not government-run but rather a private-public partnership led by Brightline, a Florida-based company that runs a successful commuter line within that state.
The 218-mile “Brightline West” project is expected to have speeds of at least 186mph, resulting in a proposed trip time of 2 hours and 10 min.
The company reportedly wants to price the cheapest one-way ticket at around $100, so that it is competitive with the cost of air travel.
A formal announcement of the project funded by the $1trillion 2021 infrastructure law is planned for Friday, December 8, 2023.
A total of $8.2bn in rail awards are to be announced on Friday by the White House. The announcement comes after Gavin Newsom, the California governor, asked Joe Biden in October for a $3 billion federal grant to support his state’s high-speed rail project connecting San Francisco and LA, which is estimated to cost $88 billion to $128 billion.
The federal investment would allow the state to complete an initial 119-mile segment of the route between Merced and Bakersfield.

From The LA Times:

The trip on the 218-mile electrified line from Rancho Cucamonga to Las Vegas will take just over two hours, with stops in Hesperia or Apple Valley, according to Brightline.
The trains can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour. The company already has the federal permits, the labor agreements and the land — a swath in the wide median of Interstate 15 — to build the line. Construction is expected to begin early next year. 

More: will run down the wide swath between opposing lanes of I-15. 

The states “own” the interstate highways once completed, meaning there will be no regulatory issues and in this case, no geographic issues like mountains. If they can’t get this done on time, under budget, light rail is doomed in this country.

Taylor Swift:

Rumor: if this works out, this will be just in time for the newly proposed Swifty Casino Bar and Grill, to be the largest casino on the strip. This will be located across the street from Barbie's Pink Hotel And Ken's Casino.


 Going so fast.

Daily Activity Report -- Friday, December 8, 2023

Locator: 46266B.  

WTI: $71.23.

Active rigs: 40.

No new permits.

Three permits renewed:

  • CLR: two Thronson permits and one Sorenson permit, Alkali Creek, Mountrail County;

Three producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

  • 39329, 1,363, CLR, Arthur 7-12H1, Little Knife, npd;
  • 39330, 1,446, CLR, Arthur 8-12H, Little Knife, npd;
  • 39337, 1,214, CLR, Hegler 10-13H, Little Knife, npd;

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DAPL

Final comments due NLT December 13, 2023.

The USACOE threw in the towel; will let others decide.

The Corps issued its draft EIS in August, 2023, but instead of recommending reissuance of the easement, it listed five possible alternatives: 

  • denying the easement and abandoning the pipeline by removal
  • denying the easement and abandoning the pipeline in place
  • granting the easement with the same conditions as the previous easement
  • granting the easement with additional easement conditions
  • constructing and operating a pipeline reroute north of Bismarck 

Unrealized tax revenue “losses” forecasted for the 2023-2025 biennium based on the state’s assumptions:

  • Common Schools Trust Fund deposits - $49,531,955 
  • Foundation Aid Stabilization Fund deposits - $49,531,955 
  • Resources Trust Fund - $101,540,51
  • MHA Nation -$150,754,860 -- the Native Americans will lose three times what North Dakota schools combined will lose
  • Counties and Cities - $154,614,660
  • Legacy Fund deposits - $302,944,950
  • Strategic Investment and Improvements Fund - $351,652,405

Christmas Gift Idea For The Faux Environmentalist In Your Family -- December 9, 2023

Locator: 46265LEGO. 

From a reader early this morning.

I'm ordering three: one for each grandson and one for me. The set is currently on backorder. Demand greatly exceeds supply.

Week 50: December 11, 2023 -- December 17, 2023

Locator: 46264TOPSTORY.  

Pending. In case I get busy during the holiday season, putting up the template now.

Top story:
 

Top international non-story story:

 

Top international energy story:

 

Top national non-energy story:

 

Top national energy story:

 

Focus on fracking: link here.


Top North Dakota non-energy story
:

 

Top North Dakota energy story:

 

Geoff Simon's  quick connects: link here.

Bakken economy:

Commentary

Gasoline Demand In The US -- Diesel Demand In Europe -- December 9, 2023

Locator: 46263GASOLINEDEMAND. 

Link here.

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Diesel Demand In Europe

Link here.

The United States is on track to ship more diesel to Europe this month, with Europe’s diesel imports from Asia and the Middle East falling so far this month.

While Europe’s desire to wean itself completely off Russian fuel supplies, Europe’s appetite for imported diesel and gasoil hasn’t diminished. In fact, it is estimated that it will increase this month to 290,000 bpd. This is the highest level of diesel and gasoil imports since July of 2018.

 U.S. Gulf Coast exports of diesel spiked as soon as refinery maintenance season was complete. But Panama Canal bottlenecks created a chokepoint for US exports of diesel to Latin America—opening the door for exports to Europe, who has been on the lookout for additional supplies.