Friday, December 26, 2025

Mission Genesis -- Some Thoughts.

l

Trump's Genesis Mission is tracked at a tab at the top of the page.  

From an earlier post? Link here. What might be the most important "reason" for Trump's "Genesis Mission." What was he thinking? The fact that Palantir was on the list speaks volumes.
 
It all comes down to national security (and money/investing, of course). National security:
  • defense (shooting war)
  • tech (cold war) 
The two most glaring omissions from Mission Genesis?
  • Apple
  • SpaceX 
Apple: its an consumer electronics company; not national security; and, Apple is going its own way.
SpaceX: 1,000% tied up in national defense and tech, but it's the silent partner for Mission Genesis -- SpaceX / US government = hand / glove.
 
Another interesting absence: Broadcom.

Most interesting name on the Mission Genesis list: Nokia. 
 
AI prompt:  Nokia made Trump's "Mission Genesis" list. There is more than enough tech on that list that Nokia didn't seem necessary. Most glaring omission from the "Mission Genesis" list: Broadcom. What is  Nokia bringing to the table; why is Nokia on the list and why did Broadcom not make the list, or Qualcom for that matter, also? Was there too much overlap among all the other chip companies on that list to add Qualcomm and Broadcom?  The only place I see Nokia is somehow in the same arena as Cisco, but that seems a stretch. Thoughts? 
 
Note: Nokia does not show up on the official Trump Mission Genesis list but does show up on other lists associated with Mission Genesis. Perhaps Trump saw Nokia as a foreign company and was not aware of the company's impact "on big research."
 
Why Broadcom and Qualcomm are ot on the list:  
Genesis' initial public partner list isn't primarily about consumer or modern silicon;
the program's public MOUs are tied to AI research platforms, cloud/compute ecosystem infrastructure -- domains where Nokia, AMD, Nvidia, AWS, etc, are core players.
 
****************************
Nokia
 
What is the relationship between Nokia and Bell Labs and what was the genesis of that relationship?

Bell Labs, originally founded in January 1925 as Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., was established through a shared ownership between AT&T and Western Electric to consolidate research in telecommunications. It operated as the research arm of the Bell System until the 1984 breakup of AT&T, after which it became a subsidiary of AT&T Technologies. In 1996, AT&T spun off much of Bell Labs into Lucent Technologies. Lucent then merged with Alcatel in 2006 to form Alcatel-Lucent.

Nokia's relationship with Bell Labs began in 2016 when Nokia acquired Alcatel-Lucent for approximately $16.6 billion, integrating Bell Labs as a subsidiary and rebranding it as Nokia Bell Labs. Today, Nokia owns and operates Nokia Bell Labs, which continues its legacy of innovation in areas like telecommunications, AI, and quantum computing, with headquarters in New Jersey. 

At this point, think ARPANET and DARPA:

With the close relationship between DARPA and Trump's Genesis Mission, why was the latter given to DOE and not DOD (DARPA)? 


When you think back to whom Joe Biden had for his Secretary, DOE, it is just amazing how clueless that administration was -- at almost every level. It was 1000% political as would be expected from someone who spent his entire life (not just career, but his entire live, his entire calling, his entire being) within the political universe. 

Back to the Genesis Mission: ChatGPT provides a lengthy discussion why Broadcom and Qualcomm were not included but ChatGPT's argument fails.

ChatGPT also explains why companies like ATT and Verizon were not included but yet the list does include Cisco, Dell, and Oracle. 

For a "clean" Genesis Mission list, several named corporations need(ed) to be removed, but my hunch is that Trump had strong personal relationships with some of them -- Larry Ellison and Oracle come to mind.  

Genesis Mission Review -- December 26, 2025

 

Trump's "Genesis Mission" is tracked at a tab at the top of the page

Today, a very comprehensive update from Shay Boloor, link here. My investment portfolio is

  • 25%: consumer electronics (AAPL)
  • 25%: legacy energy (oil)
  • 25%: tech (not including AAPL) (includes infrastructure like GLW, SCCO)
  • 25%: large-cap, (mostly) dividend paying US equities (none of the above)

This is the Genesis Mission: it could easily be a proxy for my tech holdings:


 

What might be the most important "reason" for Trump's "Genesis Mission." What was he thinking? The fact that Palantir was on the list speaks volumes.
 
*********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

Briefly:

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 
  • All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.  
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
  • And Oracle. 
  • Longer version here.

 

TGIF -- What An Incredible Week -- Friday, December 26, 2025

 l

Calendar: without question, the best day of the week for Christmas Eve, New Year's Ev -- Wednesday. What a great week.

*********************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $57.66.

New wells reporting:

  • Sunday, December 28, 2025: 68 for the month, 191 for the quarter, 774 for the year,
  • 41553, conf, XTO Energy, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11C, 
    • 40958, conf, Devon Energy, Grand National 34-36F 5H, 
    • 40765, conf, Enerplus, Olson 147-97-34-27-7H, 
  • Saturday, December 27, 2025: 65 for the month, 188 for the quarter, 771 for the year,
    • 41554, conf, XTO Energy, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11H, 
    • 40784, conf, Enerplus Olson 147-97-34-27-9H-ELL, 
    • 40769, conf, Enerplus, Olson 147-97-34-27-8H, 
    • 40723, conf, Devon Energy, Costanza 24-13 5TFH,
  • Friday, December 26, 2025: 61 for the month, 184 for the quarter, 767 for the year,
    • 41281, conf, Hess, BB-Rice-150-95-0718H-6, 

RBN Energy: why the return of the IEA's current policies scenario matters. Link here. Archived.  

The International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook 2025 (WEO 2025) represents a big shift in how the agency is framing the future of global energy. After several editions that leaned hard into an accelerated energy transition, the IEA has brought back its Current Policies Scenario (CPS), a baseline view built solely on policies that are on the books today — not those announced, proposed or aspirational. For folks watching global crude markets, especially in the U.S. oil and gas patch, that is a lot more than just a structural tweak to the outlook. It’s a clear signal that the IEA sees a growing disconnect between its earlier assumptions and how energy demand is really playing out. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll dig into what’s changed and why it matters.

As shown in Figure 1 below, the IEA’s outlook has, in recent years, anchored its long-term oil demand projections around two main scenarios: Net Zero Emissions (NZE; green line) and Stated Policies (aka STEPS; orange line). The NZE envisions an aggressive energy transition pathway, with global oil demand falling steeply to around 25 MMb/d by 2050. STEPS assumes partial implementation of announced government policies, with demand peaking near 100 MMb/d in the early 2030s before gradually declining. These two scenarios, with their widening divergence, have framed much of the global energy transition debate but have increasingly failed to reflect actual consumption trends.

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Merry Christmas -- North Texas -- DFW Area -- December 25, 2025

Photo taken Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025. The New Yorker double issue: last issue of 2025, first issue of 2026. 

Unseasonably warm weather. 

81°F yesterday. Not quite as warm today but then should be in the 80s again tomorrow. 

Weather can be absolutely dreadful and freezing this time of year in Texas. But not this year.

**********************
The Book Page 

The Big GoodbyeChinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood, Sam Wasson, c. 2020. My copy, from ThriftBooks, after being withdrawn from the LeMont Public Library, Lemont, Illinois. Hard cover.

Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues, Jonathan Kennedy, c. 2023. Soft cover. 

The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War--a Tragedy in Three Acts, Scott Anderson (b. 1959);  copyright, September 1, 2020 by Scott Anderson.

Comparing Tickers -- Miscellaneous -- Rambling -- December 25, 2025

Locator49751INVESTING.

In general, what follows is accurate. There are many exceptions, qualifications, flip-flopping, modifications, etc, but generally this is what I would tell my broker as we begin the discussion.

I'm an investor, not a trader:

  • I have a "rolling" 30-year horizon.
  • I remain fully invested at all times (there are occasional exceptions).
  • I don't invest in bonds, only equities.

With regard to tickers:

  • one can cherry-pick all these charts, particularly "time-frames."
  • talk is cheap; tickers don't lie; put one's money where one's mouth is.

Time-frames:

  • I find anything under one year worthless, except:
    • when considering harvesting a tax loss; 
    • to see what analysts on CNBC are seeing;
  • when re-aligning my portfolio, the one-year ticker is most important
    • but even the one-year ticker is just one of many factors being considered.
  • I use the five-year time frame to see if my rules of investing are working:
    • at a minimum, the five year-return must be over 100%
    • Rule of 72: it takes nine years to double one's money at 8%
    • the average 20-year annual S&P 500 return runs between 9% and 11% (per AI prompt) with many caveats.



 

*********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

Briefly:

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 
  • All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.  
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
  • And Oracle. 
  • Longer version here.

Best Update On Intel -- December 25, 2025

Locator49750INTEL.
Locator49750INTC.

Link here. No paywall. A few ads. A very, very long article.

Note the editor-in-chief of RCR Wireless News who wrote this very, very long article:

The headline:

The lede:


More:

Tesla A 15 And Tesla A 16 Chips -- With Musk's SpaceX In Texas, Now Tesla's Chips To Be Fabbed In Texas -- December 25, 2025

Locator49749TESLACHIPS.

AI prompt: Tesla A15 And Tesla A16 Chips -- this was just part of the reply -- do not confuse these with Apple's A-series chips (link here). 


From EV Magazine, link here:

Also from AI:


Is Apple fabricating any chips in Texas?


****************************
Texas' "Silicon Valley"

 
I honestly don't know what gets me more excited: all the oil activity, "tech"activity, HEB buildout, and Buc-ee's in Texas representing how fast that state's economy is growing OR following the "tech" story in general, unrelated to Texas. What's more exciting to me: tech or Texas? I honestly don't know. 

And the FIFA World Cup (soccer) will make a huge presence know in 2026. 

Investing -- Best Performers -- 2025 -- Posted December 25, 2025

Locator49748INVESTING

Link here.  Best, worse, top three in each of three major indices -- S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones --  



*********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

Briefly:

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 
  • All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.  
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
  • And Oracle. 
  • Longer version here.


TSMC's Top Three Customers In 206: Nvidia, Apple, Broadcom -- December 25, 2025

Locator49747TSMC

Beth, link here. One of the best threads so far today. The comments will highlight and augment Beth's post.


The wealth wizard, link here. Note Groq.

*********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

Briefly:

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 
  • All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.  
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
  • And Oracle. 
  • Longer version here.

 

Nvidia Acquires Grok -- December 25, 2025

Locator49746GROK

Shay, link here. Once you've read the headline(s), this is the post I found most helpful.

  • Joann SternWSJ, broke the story on my x thread, but it was Shay who really provided the back story.
  • in case Shay's link above disappears, here is what he wrote: link here

Jonathan Ross, linked here.

The wealth wizard, link here. Note Groq.

*********************************
Disclaimer
Brief Reminder 

Briefly:

  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken and I am often well out front of my headlights. I am often appropriately accused of hyperbole when it comes to the Bakken.
  • I am inappropriately exuberant about the US economy and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • See disclaimer. This is not an investment site. 
  • Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here. 
  • All my posts are done quickly: there will be content and typographical errors. If something appears wrong, it probably is. Feel free to fact check everything.
  • If anything on any of my posts is important to you, go to the source. If/when I find typographical / content errors, I will correct them. 
  • Many posts are not proofread for several days after they've been posted.  
  • Reminder: I am inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken, US economy, and the US market.
  • I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Apple. 
  • And now, Nvidia, also. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Nvidia. Nvidia is a metonym for AI and/or the sixth industrial revolution.
  • I've now added Broadcom to the disclaimer. I am also inappropriately exuberant about all things Broadcom.
  • And Oracle. 
  • Longer version here.


Wednesday, December 24, 2025

3Q25 GDP -- First Reading -- The Graphic -- December 24, 2025

Locator49745GDP

In a long note like this, I may have made some typographical / content errors -- keeping track of the colored bars and the respective could get confusing. 

The links:

The formula:


The first reading, 3Q25 GDP
:

This graphic is very, very clear. At least to me. But even with three Google prompts -- more specific each time -- I was unable to get a clear explanation. 

Note the y-axis -- on the right-hand side. It's very clear that the colored bars above the mid-line (the 0% line) -- above 0% -- were positive contributors to the GDP -- the black line.

In 3Q25, there are four bars above the zero-percent line, and the GDP black line matches the top of the colored bars. There are no "colored bars below the "0-line." The "blue bar" -- net exports of goods and services -- did not show up at all suggesting it contributed nothing to the 3Q25 GDP (first reading).

In 2Q25, the "blue bar" -- private investment -- extended to the -4.5% line (450 basis points below the "0-line," suggesting that private investment was a drag on the 2Q25 GDP.  [Folks should be able to explain that; I would do that but I don't need the pushback.]

Meanwhile, in both quarters, the "green bar" --net exports of goods and services -- had a significant effect on the GDP (black line).

Second observation: If the blue bar had extended 300 basis points in 3Q25 like it did in the first two quarters of 2025, the graph would have put the GDP (the black line) well over 6%

Third  observation: a CNBC talking head said that "Health Care" -- the orange bar -- contributed an outsized amount to 3Q25 GDP (first reading). Most would agree that consumers paying more for "health care" is good for the corporations, perhaps for the US government, but not good for the consumers, all things being equal. It simply means health car has gotten more expensive if consumers are paying more, quarter/quarter or year/year.

But, now that we have the graph, we can decide for ourselves to the extent Health Care contributed to 3Q25 GDP (first reading). Going back to 3Q22, the Health Care component is about the same. 

Fourth observation: the orange bar doesn't even show up in the first two quarters of 2022, still in the Covid-19 lockdown period.  

Fifth observation: the #1 question -- why is the blue bar completely missing in the latest quarter and was was the blue bar so incredibly negative in the prior quarter. 

Sixth observation: it would be nice to hear an unbiased explanation for the huge green bar below the "0-line" in the 1Q25, and the incredible flip the following two quarters. 

If I were an economics professor I would assign the students to provide a five-page double-space letter explaining this graph. They can use a chatbot as much as they want. One-fourth of the students would be randomly called before the class and explain the three most important points in their five-page analysis. They would not be told ahead of time; the only thing they would be told -- submit a five-page analysis of the graphic.

It would be great for CNBC to show this graphic and have Steve Liesman and Rick Santelli and hash it out. Rick, of course, would report objectively; Steve, not so much. 

Jargon: by the way, the formula above is called the "GDP deflator" because is a price index that is used to "deflate" nominal GDP (GDP measured in current dollars) into real GDP (GDP measured in constant purchasing power). -- ChatGPT.

Christmas Eve -- December 24, 2025

Locator49745B

Jobs: initial jobless claims come in under expectations -- 215K vs 225K estimated, but, of course, analysts question the data -- holiday; seasonal; a GDP of 4.3% (first reading, 3Q25), etc. Same analysts aren't even happy with a 4.3% GDP. This is all from CNBC talking heads. So, continued good news and analysts not happy. But as usual, everyone's waiting for more data. LOL. It gets tedious. 

NFL: tomorrow -- all three games limited to three "pay" options -- Amazon Priime (for the prime time eventing) and Netflix for the two daytime games. A long time ago, I said it was just a matter before the NFL would slide and dice "pay" options, Instead of offering "buffet" options at one annual price, the NFL would offer the games on an a la carte basis, much more expensive for the fan. At least for now, local networks will air the Netflix games for "their" teams. So, the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Commanders game today on Netflix will be available through the local network (CBS) for local market, if that makes sense. I don't believe that's true for the Amazon Prime game.

**************************
Back to the Bakken  

WTI: $58.55.

New wells being reported:

  • Thursday, December 25, 2025: 60 for the month, 183 for the quarter, 766 for the year,   
    • 41280, conf, Hess, BB-Rice-150-95-0718H-5, 
  • Wednesday, December 24, 2025: 59 for the month, 182 for the quarter, 765 for the year,
    • 41659, conf, Phoenix Operating, Shivey 28-33 5H,
    • 41658, conf, Phoenix Operating, Shivey 28-33 4H,
    • 41657, conf, Phoenix Operating, Shivey 28-33 2H, 
    • 41656, conf, Phoenix Operating, Shivey 28-33 1H, 
    • 41618, conf, Phoenix Operating, Shivey 28-33 3H, 

RBN Energy:  E&Ps struggle to maintain reserve life under the cash-return model. Link here. Archived.

In the upstream oil and gas world, “reserve life” — calculated via the Reserve Life Index (RLI) — is one of the simplest and most widely cited metrics. The calculation is straightforward: divide a company’s proved reserves by its current annual production and you get an estimate of how long those reserves will last. But behind that neat little ratio lies a web of technical, financial and strategic forces that can make RLI a surprisingly nuanced measure of an E&P’s long-term outlook. In today’s RBN blog, we analyze the reserve-life trends of the 39 E&P companies we cover.

At its core, reserve life starts with the size and quality of the rock. Reservoirs with strong porosity, permeability and pressure profiles generate higher recoveries, while effective secondary and tertiary recovery techniques can stretch reserves for decades. Deep offshore basins, like the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), are notorious for short RLIs because the reservoirs have very high decline rates. That is the primary reason most E&Ps left the Gulf decades ago, although production there is on the rise (see Back in the Saddle). Shale reservoirs also have much higher decline rates than conventional resources. A short RLI creates a reinvestment treadmill that makes it very difficult to manage the capital demands on the company. The recent emphasis on shale production means that 90% of capital investment since 2019 has gone to offsetting declines rather than adding to supply. Conversely, a longer RLI makes the pace of reinvestment more manageable.

But geology is not the only factor. The weighting of total proved reserves between proved developed and undeveloped makes a huge difference. (Proved reserves are the estimated quantities of oil and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate — with reasonable certainty — can be economically produced from known reservoirs under existing economic conditions, operating methods, and government regulations as of a specific evaluation date. Proved undeveloped reserves require significant future capital before they can be produced. Companies with vast undeveloped reserves generally have a longer RLI than companies with far fewer undeveloped reserves.) In addition, the pace at which a company develops its acreage is equally important: An aggressive drilling program that drives reserve additions higher will push RLI higher, as reserves are added at a faster clip than production. Conversely, a cash-return model (where E&Ps prioritize generating free cash flow and returning cash to shareholders over production growth) can reduce reserve life as reserves are reduced at a faster rate than production drops. This is illustrated in Figure 1 below, which plots the reinvestment rate and reserve life between 2014-24 for our universe of companies. The RLI (blue bars and left axis) averaged 12.8 years in 2014-15 before gradually falling to 9.9 years in 2024 as the reinvestment rate (orange line and right axis) was reduced from 104% of cash flow in 2014-15 to only 50% in 2024. 

Blog Shorthand -- December 24, 2025

Locator49744B

Blog shorthand: when I say a well will be sited at 689 / 663 FNL and 1901 / 1836 FEL, I am using shorthand to show that the wells on that pad (regardless of the number) will be sited between 689 feet and 663 feet from the north line; same with distance from the east or west line. 

FNL: from north line = from the north section line
FEL: from east line = from the east section line
FSL: from south line = from the south section line
FWL: from west line = from the west section line

That information can be found on the daily activity report, free to anyone at the NDIC site without a subscription or password:

The information can also be found the scout ticket or production history, both of which require a subscription to "Basic Services" at the NDIC site, a $50 annual subscription. 

It really isn't necessary to provide this information on the blog, but I started doing it some time ago (many years ago) when NDIC was often down (during Covid-19 lockdown and during transition to new contractor) so that if NDIC was down, I still had the historic information.

The daily activity site sometimes also includes the bottom hole location (which I don't post --  yet) but does include the sections (or fractions of sections) in the spacing/drilling unit. 

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Wyoming Whiskey -- December 23, 2025

Locator49743WHISKEY

Home page. I had not seen this whiskey before in our local package store. I didn't buy any; I'm not in the market for spirits right now, but I thought it interesting. 

Kirby, Wyoming.

About six years ago, I accidentally took the Wind River Canyon route -- Shoshoni to Thermopolis -- one of the most beautiful canyons I had ever seen -- I knew nothing about it until I just happened to stumble upon it. This past Sunday, I was talking to our church's music director and he mentioned he was originally from Wyoming and we talked of the canyon! Then, today, while visiting friends at Total Wines I came across this little treasure. What a story. 

First legal distillery in Wyoming since Prohibition.


 Local:

Nicely Priced Beer In North Texas -- December 23, 2025

Locator49742BEER

I mentioned earlier how inexpensive our beer was here in north Texas. My favorite, not pictured below, is $10.99 / 6-pack. 

These are in the $8 - $9 range. Two brewed in Dallas, the third brewed in a suburb of Ft Worth, Grapevine, where we live. 




What An Incredible Day -- 80°F Was The High -- Forecast, 82° On Day After Christmas -- North Texas -- December 23, 2025

Locator49741B

Beer: Went for a bike ride, the day was so incredibly beautiful. I stopped at Total Wines to say "hi" to the manager and a checker whom I have grown to know well over the past ten (?) years. I'm no longer drinking (alcohol) so I just stopped in to say "hi," see what was new. I still have an occasional beer but significantly less often than, let's say, six months ago. 

Beer remains incredibly inexpensive here in north Texas. I'll post some photos later with prices. See also, Wyoming, Whiskey.

So, today, the high was 80°F and on Friday the high is forecast for 82°F -- I will be at the pool -- probably tomorrow because on Friday, I may be on the road. We'll see.

**********************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $58.47.

Active rigs: 30. 

Five new permits, #42593 - #42598, inclusive:

  • Operators: KODA Resources (3); Silver Hill Energy (2)
  • Fields: East Goose Lake (Divide County; Big Meadow (Williams); and, Temple (Williams)
  • Comments:
    • KODA Resources has permits for three Ale permits, NWNE 23-161-103, 
      • to be sited 689 / 663 FNL and 1901 / 1836 FEL;
    • Silver Hill has permits for two permits, an Iverson E permit, and a Ron Burgundy permit, both NWNE 15-158-96, 
      • to be sited 374 FNL and 671 / 1740 FEL.

Ten permits renewed:

  • BR (4): two Renegade permits and two Chuckwagon permits, all in Sand Creek (McKenzie County)
  • Foundation Energy (3): Mosser Federal, and two Audrey permits, Elkhorn Ranch (Billings County) and Beaver Creek (Golden Valley County);
  • Formentera Operations (2): two FLX2 permits, Flaxton (Burke County);
  • Hess: an EN-MOMM permit Big Butte (Mountrail County)

One permit canceled:

  • 40918, PNC, Zavanna, Rennerfeldt, Williams County;

Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed

  • 38680, 2,041, Petro-Hunt, USA 153-95-5A-31-1H,
  • 40825, 1,792, CLR, Bjarne 5-29H, 

Dry holes:

  • 23159, Neptune, State, Williams County;
  • 23161, Neptune, State, Williams County;
  • 35357, XTO, Lonnie Federal, Williams County;
  • 36832, XTO, HBU Muller, Williams County; 

PSA -- Next Year's IRS Standard Deduction -- December 23, 2025

Locator49740TAXES

AI prompt: this is all over the net -- e-mail with this notice is being sent to me -- is this true -- the "Standard Deduction" is projected to be cut in roughly half.  Here's what Google says:

All good news. Thank you, Mr Trump. I doubt Joe Biden would have done this. 

Passwords -- December 23, 2025

Locator49739PASSWORDS

From Facebook. Needs to be fact-checked but seems reasonable. Link here.

Some observations:

  • the first real breakpoint: 8 characters, upper and lower case letters -- from four months to 15 years;
  • by adding numbers, extends 15 years to 62 years, but
  • simply adding one more character (9 characters), takes us from 62 years to 3,000 years
  • the next breakpoint: 10 characters; 238,000 years
  • finally, twelve characters, add a symbol and we go to 3 billion years

I'm sure there's a lot more to this but it certainly explains why common advice for a password:

  • at least 8 characters
  • upper and lower case letters
  • simply add a symbol,
  • but going to 12 character (including a symbol) appears to be the holy grail. 

To what extent small repeating units affect this, I don't know but changing the repeating units by one number or one letter or one symbol should be the key. 

Two-step verification is most important.  

US 3Q25 First Reading GDP -- Huge Story Today -- Getting Mixed Reviews -- December 23, 2025

Locator49738GDP

Barron's, link here


CAT: on another note, huge story on CNBC at end of trading day. 

Saudi Aramco's Key Financial Results -- December 23, 2025

Locator49737SAUDIARAMCO. 

From 3Q25:

From 2Q25, link here

Foreign Exchange Reserves -- Russia, Saudi Arabia, China -- Posted December 23, 2025

Locator49736SAUDI. 

Locator49736CHINA.

Locator: 49736RUSSIA.  

Foreign exchange reserves: Russia, Saudi Arabia, China.

Russia, link here: posted December 23, 2025:

Saudi, link here: posted December 23, 2025:

China, link here, posted December 23, 2025: 

Legacy Fund -- December 23, 2025

Locator: 49735LEGACY.  

Legacy Fund
: link here.