QOTW
Deepwater Horizon
As usual, in-depth of analysis of current events is best found at a place we call “not the media”. This summary, titled Congressional Testimony and the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, at The Oil Drum;
What caused that catastrophic, sudden and violent failure? Was the well properly designed? Was the well properly cemented? Were there problems with the well casing? Were all appropriate tests run on the cement and casings? These are some of the critical questions that need to be answered in the coming weeks and months.
Over the past several days, some have suggested that the blowout preventers (or BOPs) used on this project were the cause of the accident. That simply makes no sense. A BOP is a large piece of equipment positioned on top of a wellhead to provide pressure control. As explained in more detail in the attachment to my testimony, BOPs are designed to quickly shut off the flow of oil or natural gas by squeezing, crushing or shearing the pipe in the event of a “kick” or “blowout” – a sudden, unexpected release of pressure from within the well that can occur during drilling.
The attention now being given to the BOPs in this case is somewhat ironic because at the time of the explosion, the drilling process was complete. The well had been sealed with casing and cement, and within a few days, the BOPs would have been removed. At this point, the well barriers – the cementing and the casing – were responsible for controlling any pressure from the reservoir.
Read on. Some of the industry discussion in the comments is just as interesting.
h/t Adrian
The Sammy Davis Jr. Conundrum
Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
Canadian Jewish Congress – … hate crime sentencing provisions were meant to reflect not just simple membership in a group, but an “unchangeable” or “inescapable” aspect of the victim.
Archie Bunker – You was born black, so you didn’t no choice about that. But, why’d you turn Jew?
How Deep, Señor Chavez?
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Reader Tips
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite
Radio. Tonight, for your delectation, here is Mr. Victor Borge
performing Clair de Lune ¤ (the third movement of Claude
Debussy‘s Suite Bergamasque), in 1992 (5:01).
Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
Dwain Lingenfourther
“Here’s a picture of Dwain and his 4th wife…”
I Can See Arizona From My House
“We’re all Arizonans now.”
(And because we strive to be fair and balanced, the opposing side makes its case here.)
This is fun, too. Apparently, the giant Democratic brains in San Diego thought boycotts were a one way street.
Fremen Of The Heights
…have a distinct set of physiological traits that help with the dangers of high altitude: decreased arterial oxygen content (low levels of oxygen in the blood), increased resting ventilation (rapid breathing while resting), lack of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (meaning blood vessels don’t constrict when oxygen content of the blood is low), lower incidence of reduced birth weight, and reduced hemoglobin concentration (hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that helps transport oxygen from lungs or gills to the body). Put together, this means that Tibetans have evolved to function with far less oxygen in their blood than other people – perfect for high altitudes with low oxygen.
A new study focuses on this final trait, the reduced hemoglobin concentration. Tibetans have 3.6 grams per deciliter less hemoglobin than other populations. When you go up to the insane altitudes that mountain climbers tend to go for, your body ramps up red blood cell production in order to compensate for the low levels of oxygen. This is why athletes train at high altitude — to get more red blood cells into their system, and transfer oxygen around more efficiently. However, a side effect of this increase is the that your blood increases in viscosity. When it gets really bad, your body is pushing around blood the density of motor oil, something it’s not designed to do. By naturally having much lower hemoglobin levels, people from Tibet (and assumedly Nepal, and other regions in the area) maintain proper blood fluidity.
I hasten to add – none of this undermines the overwhelming academic consensus that the forces of evolutionary selection apply to all living organisms except humans.
Reader Tips
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio.
Tonight, for your delectation, here is Dick Powell in the Hat Without
a Body episode of Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1949, 29:42,
RealPlayer).
Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
“For it”.
Via NewsRealBlog, where there’s also a transcript.
h/t John B.
Y2Kyoto: Attack Of The Killer Cowpeas
Pay no attention to the plant growth on your monitor.
Clearly, crops will soon overwhelm the capacity of John Deere to harvest them, and millions upon millions will be left with nothing to eat but beetles and lizar…. OH NO!
Related: World Health Organization: Controlling the global obesity epidemic.
Take Me, Obama
Judicial temperament;
He opened his mouth, said a few words, and the place was mesmerized. You could hear a pin drop. In part, that is because of all the rock star qualities he has: the eloquence, the magnetism, the great looks, the brilliance. When he opens his mouth, you know what you’re getting.
h/t OttRob
British MP Suffers Man Caused Penetrating Wound
…administered by woman with no distinguishing characteristics whatsoever.
Seemingly out of the blue, Muslim group offers condolences.
The World Still Has Too Many Reporters
And you thought you had a rough week.
They only bite in self defence. Make of that what you will.
The World Is Being Run By Crazy People
“Euro Breakup Talk Increases As Germany Loses Proxy”…
What was conceived as a club for Europe’s strongest economies was expanded for political reasons, leaving the currency union with minimal powers to police deficit spending and no safety net for dealing with countries, like Greece, that veer toward default.
“There was no discussion of that at all, of a crisis mechanism,” said Niels Thygesen, a retired Copenhagen University economics professor who served on the 1989 group led by European Commission President Jacques Delors that mapped out the path to the euro. “It was believed that if countries adhered more or less to prudent budgetary policies, that would not or could not happen.”
After all, this was Europe. What was the worst that could happen?
(Via)
Reader Tips
Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite
Radio. Tonight, for your delectation, here are Albert Ammons and
Pete Johnson performing Boogie Woogie Dream ¤ in 1944 (2:05).
Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.
Y2Kyoto: We Don’t Need No Stinking Peer Review
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The World Still Has Too Many Communications Directors
Watch and learn. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey holds a clinic for conservative politicians the world over.
UPDATE: Yanked by the Star-Ledger. There’s another copy here. You might download and save it while you still can.
Meanwhile, it’s business as usual in Ottawa….
From The Network That Still Employs Neil Macdonald
Now is the time at SDA when we juxtapose!
…. “The CBC has commissioned a study to determine whether its news is biased, the president of the public broadcaster told the Senate finance committee this week.”
…. “CBC refused to comment on the study’s methodology Thursday.”
Why look! Someone’s asking “what do you think?”