Tag: water

RANT! How dumb are the oil companies?

RANT! How dumb are the oil companies?

I am sure that you have heard of the current oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.  If you haven’t, here is a link – please come back after you have caught up with current events.

I am just aghast at how stupid these companies are. Current reports are that they didn’t install an “acoustic switch” on the well. From NewsInferno:

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded last week was not outfitted with a safety device that might have prevented the massive oil spill now nearing the U.S. Gulf Coast. The device, known as an acoustic switch, is a last-resort protection against underwater spills, and is required by regulators in Norway and Brazil. Unfortunately, the U.S. has no such regulation for oil wells operating off of its shores.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, an acoustic switch is a remote control device that a crew can use in an attempt to trigger an underwater valve that shuts down a well that’s damaged. The switch is meant as a last resort, as the primary shut-off systems almost always work on wells when they are out of control. It can be triggered from a lifeboat if an oil platform has to be evacuated.

According to the Journal, U.S regulators did consider requiring the acoustic switch on offshore wells, but drilling companies resisted because of its cost, and questions about its effectiveness. To be fair, the switches have never been tested in real-world situations, only simulations. U.S. regulators also maintain they are prone to causing unnecessary shutdowns.

Are these guys just plain stupid.  Didn’t they see Jurasic Park where the pessimistic mathematician, Ian Malcolm, talks about if something can go wrong then it will go wrong?

BP AND ITS KIN SHOULD HAVE BACKUP SYSTEMS FOR THE BACKUP SYSTEMS THAT ARE BACKING UP THE BACKUP SYSTEMS.  IF THEY DON’T HAVE 6 FOOLPROOF WAYS OF TURNING OFF A BROKEN WELL THEN THEY SHOULDN’T DRILL!

Don’t drink from hotel glasses or coffee cups

Don’t drink from hotel glasses or coffee cups

With the current scare regarding Swine Flu (more appropriately called H1N1 flu), I want to remind my readers to not drink from hotel glasses unless you are VERY confident that they use appropriate cleaning measures to clean their cups and glasses.  It does no good to ask at the front desk when you check in, of course they are going to say that they are following laws. If you aren’t sure, ask the front desk for paper cups to take your morning vitamins.

My rule of thumb is simple.  I look for a maid cart.  If I see a cart and it has DIRTY glasses that the maid has been collecting to take downstairs to be cleaned, I assume proper techniques are being used.  If I can’t find a cart or if that cart has not collected dirty glasses, then I assume the maid is cleaning the glasses in the toilet.

Of course, if you are really concerned.  Stick with bottled water.

Check out this disgusting and scary video.

Hotel Glasses

Baby frog

Baby frog

We have a small ornamental pond in our backyard.  A couple of frogs have been making it their home since my daughter brought home tadpoles years ago when she was in 2nd grade (she is driving now – how time flies). Our patio beside this pond is almost always mosquito-free and I credit our frogs for this (along with the 4 dozen fish in the pond that voraciously eat mosquito larvae). As the frogs remove the mosquitos, we don’t mind them being in the backyard. However, some people aren’t keen on frogs and see them as pests. This is understandable as they can explore. If they do start causing problems around the backyard, it might be worth contacting https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/ to see if they have any advice on how to deal with frogs.

Evidently, they were feeling a bit frisky lately since we now have 4 baby frogs sitting on the lillypads on a regular basis. Here is a picture one of them. He is much better looking than the Jabba the Hut toad that I read about on a friend’s blog!

It is probably difficult to tell but this little guy is well under 2 inches long as he sits there.  The pad that he is on is 4-5 inches in diameter.

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