A Cowgirl's Grave

A lovely stone in the town cemetery

East of Miami, Texas

(click pic for a little larger view)

Note: This is a "bump" from June '08, but I put in a different photo from a different angle.

I didn't notice it until I got home and downloaded the photos to my computer but the background reflection of the bluffs on the other side of Red Deer Creek seem to blend into the scene on the stone.

Hard Core

Originally published 8/7/08.  I was telling a friend about my oil field experiences and linked him to this post and decided it was worth a "bump".

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I took these photos a few months ago to post in a political forum I used to frequent; I wanted to (try to) prove to a guy that hydrocarbons were formed by deposits of organic material. He was arguing that, since some Georgia textbook had said "oil came from dinosaurs" that that was what was taught in our schools and it was wrong. (never mind that the textbook was printed in the 50's, and was a grade school primer. That was about his intellectual level, come to think of it)

He was insisting that oil is formed in the earth's core (abiogenic petroleum origin) and that we were nowhere nearly running out of it and that oil companies kept this "fact" a secret . (and this coming from a guy who said every Ron Paul supporter was a conspiracy nut)

This is a core sample from one of my dad's wells; it came from approx. 4800 feet and is from the Brown Dolomite formation.



The large white deposit in the above photo is chert (sometimes called "flint"); drilling through the dolomite formation is tricky enough*, but these hard layers of chert could tear up a drill bit if not careful.

*Dolomite is very porous, and that's why -- in that particular area -- it is the oil-bearing strata. In other places, where it was necessary to drill deeper to find oil or gas, drilling through this particular formation took special precautions; if the drilling fluid wasn't viscous (thick) enough, or didn't have enough "filler", the formation could swell from the fresh water and "stick your bit" and pipe. It is also a "lost circulation" zone, sometimes sucking in fluid faster than could be pumped down the hole.

This next photo shows just how porous the rock is.



It's so porous, I used to like to pour liquid incense onto the core; it would soak it up and slowly release the fragrance over several weeks time.

This next shot shows some tiny fossils embedded into it. (Some might argue that they're rock, but I took this to my college geology professor and he verified it. He wanted me to give it to him, but he had already stolen a meteorite from me...long story)



No, it wasn't "just" dinosaurs that made oil; my dad used to say it was dinosaur "poop" more than the prehistoric animal remains, but that was...just like that Georgia textbook...a simplification. The organic material that later became oil came from seas that used to cover this area millions of years ago. It wasn't just one time, but several, over millions of years and millions of tons of organics. The tremendous amount of organic material, under tremendous heat and pressure, formed the hydrocarbons.



That's not as nice an example as is this core sample from Norway, but I think it's still interesting.

My dad and I used to polish rocks, and he made an ashtray out of a slab of core sample. I don't know what happened to it, but it had a beautiful shell in it.

That particular field is nearly played out, but the last time I was out there, they were drilling some injection wells and seemed to be having some success with that method. (tertiary recovery)

Suck It, Photobucket

I was doing as I normally do when I check email, replying to a few in my inbox, checking the recipe newsletters, reading some sales circulars from Amazon and a local grocery store, then went into the Spam folder to clear it out.

I always scan the subject titles and the addresses just in case something important has been accidentally flagged as junk when I saw one from Photobucket.  At first I thought it was Spam, but it seemed to be from the website, so I opened it to find this:

WE NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE BEEN USING
PHOTOBUCKET FOR 3RD PARTY HOSTING*

*What is 3rd Party Hosting?

Photobucket defines 3rd party hosting as the action of embedding an image or photo onto another website. For example, using the tag to embed or display a JPEG image from your Photobucket account on another website such as a forum, Etsy, eBay auction listings, a blog, etc. is definitively 3rd party hosting.

And some other crap, mainly that they wanted to charge me some insane amount to provide hosting for my graphics.  Now, I use the Blogger albums they provide for any jpegs, but they don't support animations and I use some in posts in here, as well as the day-date calendar and border.  I also use the service for forums that don't supply image hosting for non-paying users like me (read: cheap bastards like me)

I didn't get a notice until this one that they were changing their TOU (terms of use).  Since they had always supplied the code, the HTML to embed images, I always thought it was OK, but apparently it's not now.  My "library" with Photobucket is only 1% full and they used to show a bandwidth meter and it was always set at around 10% or less, so I never worried.  I did keep an eye on it after having a few websites directly link to images and got a warning from Photobucket that I was over the limit, so I made it private and that was the end of the thieving. 

There are lots of people complaining about it online and I don't blame 'em.  Some people relied upon it for their image hosting, esp. people uploading them to Amazon for reviews and people trying to sell things on eBay. Now their entire websites and/or posts are affected and have this placeholder where their photos used to be:

So, if you see that in any older post or on the animations I use for things, then that's the reason. I've already signed up for a new free image hosting service and hope they'll not go the same route as Photobucket...which I predict is going to go out of business soon, because I think - as do many others - that they're in financial trouble and this is one last grab for some quick cash.

Anyway, I'll be doing the changeover soon, hope it works.  If not, I suppose I can live w/out any flashing signs or animated GIFs.  I'm sure the readership of this pathetic excuse for a blog won't suffer any...how could it?  We're only something like the 12,784,987th ranked blog in the world, after all.

No Pity for Pilate

And I was round when Jesus Christ
Had His moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed His fate

"Sympathy for the Devil"
- The Rolling Stones

This is the first station in the Stations of the Cross and is one of my favorites. I will post some better photos at a later date, but these are some of the older ones I wanted to go ahead and show, then burn to disc.

Stepping around to the middle of the exhibit, the detail on the bronze of Jesus' face is the very definition of "resigned to one's fate".

I've tried to not be caught looking, but I find it interesting to watch some people's reactions at this station, especially after they've seen the pure essence of dejection from the above view. Quite a few of the folks step away with a sad face, then turn facing Pilate with Jesus, standing side-by-side, often with their hand on Jesus' shoulder. I've never seen it done with disrespect, no mugging for the camera; in fact, I never have seen anyone posing with the statues...most of the photographing of people is done with the huge cross as the background.

A little closer view shows how the bronze has been shined by people touching or brushing up against it.

Both figures are fascinating to study; Pilate is interesting because he did nothing, "washed his hands" and I suppose I can relate to that more than I can being persecuted as was Jesus. Pilate was human, interested mainly in his own self-preservation.

We all have crossroads in life, decisions we make that turn out to be wrong, but which is the worse sin; making a mistake or doing nothing? Sometimes our fate hinges not on those things we do, but by the things we do NOT do.

It's also common to find several dollars worth of change in Pilate's hand washing bowl.

This is my favorite perspective of Pilate, and I've plans for this or similar photos. I altered this one with my IrfanView program several months ago and like the way it almost looks like an oil painting.

As I said, I will post more at a future date.

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Sorry, but this one is also a "bump" and was originally posted on 8/3/07

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"Bumped" again from May 31, 2008

Which Ten Commandment?

Are you?

You Are "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"

You may or may not have the most honorable parents, but you try to respect and honor them whenever possible. In general, you think that people should focus on their families more. Charity begins at home. You also believe that younger generations should do a better job taking care of their elders. It saddens you to see how older people are treated in most cultures. You think it's truly a disgrace.

Which of the Ten Commandments Are You?

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While I will admit to not respecting or honoring both my parents as much as I should have when they were alive, I'd say that most of the rest of the results are accurate.

While my own faith has diminished over the last few yrs., I still think the Ten Commandments are - for the most part - good to live by. I could get people arguing with me, but for good or bad, they're the basis for much of the western world's laws. (and no, I do not want to debate it)

One of the better photos I think I've ever taken at the Cross of Our Lord near Groom, Texas, has been this one of the Ten Commandments monument.

Many Mules

(Click photo for larger view)



There were several others, I just couldn't get them all in the shot.

Taken Sept 07 at the horse lots, just west of the Pampa city limits.
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Originally posted September 12, 2008.

UPDATE: I had forgotten this post and photo; I really need to get back out there to check on "my" mules.  I got to "know" these mules fairly well in the half-dozen or so times I was out there then.

The two smaller mules on the left have been photographed and been the subjects of several other posts in this blog.  They are a pair of females that pulled a wagon and sometimes could be seen in parades here in town.  They always were together and when one moved, so did the other.  They weren't as tame as some of the others, but would come up to me and let me feed them unsaleable apples or vegetables I had convinced the produce mgr. of a local grocery to give me. The way they moved and always in the same order convinced me that must be the exact same way they were harnessed to the wagon.  I called them "Sally" and "Sadie", seemed appropriate.

The next mule was always a little standoffish and didn't like taking the fruit out of my hand but would eat it if I pitched it over to him.  He, like the two mentioned above, didn't like me touching them. I named him "Shiloh". (shortened to "Shy")

The brown mule wasn't affectionate, but he would eat the produce out of my hand.  Most mules looked sad, but he especially did.  He also had the largest ears of any creature I've ever seen in person.   He looked like a "Luke" to me.

The big mule on the right was my favorite;  the owners had told me what her name was (which I forgot), but I called her "Molly". I don't know why I named her that, I've only known one Molly in my entire life and she wasn't mule-faced or particularly stubborn.  She was a sweet old thing (the mule, not the girl I knew named Molly), enjoyed the treats I'd bring her and liked being patted on the jaw or neck.  To be honest, I don't know if she liked the affection or just suffered my pats because of the attention I gave her. 

I felt sorry for all of them and for almost all the rest of the animals out there.  These mules aren't neglected as were many of the other animals, the other mules, the pigs, goats and horses.  These were fed well enough it looked, but I always shuddered at the condition of the pens.  The owners did a fair job of keeping the waste shoveled out, but I still thought it not healthy for them to have to stand on damp ground. 

I love dogs and would like to have one, especially a large one, but town is no place for a larger breed.  They need room to run and I'd think a mule would be the same.  I don't know how intelligent a mule is, but I'd think they're smart enough to need some mental stimulation and enough acreage to roam.  They definitely need some grass to graze.

I know I've bored people with my dreams of winning the lottery and what I might buy with the money, but if/when I ever did win and got a small ranch, these mules would be the first thing I'd try to buy.  I don't know why I got so attached to them, but I do know one of the reasons I quit going out there and "visiting" with them...I felt so sorry for them.  Like I said, they're not being mistreated, but they certainly deserve a better life than to be cooped up in a small pen like that.

Southfork Longhorn

Taken w/ a cheap film camera, then transferred to digital.

From 2000, a trip to Southfork, the ranch from the hit TV show "Dallas", with my big sister Sharon and our British friend "Elle".

Storm on 282

Rain squall crossing Hwy 282, north of Pampa.

Odd little storm; it popped up suddenly and with great severity, the local radar showing a small mass of yellow and red around a knot of orange. I once read that the avg. thunderstorm is only ten square miles and this one looked to be of average size but intense. We got a bit of rain, but most of it pushed on off to the east of town.

50 Welcome Signs From 50 States

50 Welcome Signs From 50 States

(It's a wonder that sign hasn't been vandalized.)

Dogs and Car Windows

This and other funny photos of dogs and car windows at Offbeat Earth

Carbon Black Worker

Sunray 1942

Click for larger view



From Library of Congress

Not the original; I cropped a bit out. Shorpy has a clearer, altered version.

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I remember a joke about two Yankees who came to Texas to find work at one of the many carbon black plants that used to surround Pampa. A few days later they were back home up north and their friends asked them why they had not stayed to work.

"No need." they replied. "The plant had burned up".

A joke isn't funny if you have to explain it, but the gist of the joke was the men had thought the coating of carbon black on the plant meant it had caught on fire.

One of my first jobs was at the Cabot Machine shop just outside of town; the lady personnel mgr. told me the carbon black plant paid nearly a dollar an hour more and that's the job I wanted, but she told me I probably wouldn't like it. I probably wouldn't have because I didn't like the machine shop, either.

Comfortable Ways of Sleeping in a Box

From Damn Cool Pics



Follow the above link to see over 20 other photos of cats in boxes. I picked this particular one because it looks a lot like the Beej. When he gets comfortable on my lap or lying beside me, he tucks his head under like that cat is doing.

Somewhere out there is a pic of me as a young boy lying on my bed with my head in a box. My family always laughed about it, but it was an effective way of blocking off noise in our small and crowded house. I could hold my book on my chest and escape into the story and not be distracted. It was also comforting in a way.

It's not-so-strange to admit to liking cats. It's a fairly strange thing to confess I've always been fascinated by boxes.

Comfortable Ways of Sleeping in a Box

More to the Story

What did you think when you saw the above photo?

I bet it wasn't what really happened.

gelid

gelid \JEL-id\ , adjective;
1. Extremely cold; icy.

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My online friends Alison and Chester would say a picture is worth a thousand words.

16,000 word's worth

1928 Chevrolet Truck

Wish I had $6,000 to spare because I'd love to have this old truck.

Click any pic for larger view.



No, I wasn't leaning while taking the picture; the lot was sloping down towards the street.



It's in rough shape, but with some TLC it could look pretty sharp, I bet.

When I first saw it, it reminded me of The Walton's truck, but a bit of research told me that one was a Ford. (One site said it was a '31; another said it was a ' 28-'29 model)



The inside needs a lot of work, too.



Then again, there's not a lot to fix up!



Not sure how large the tank is, but it can't hold more than a few hundred gallons. I would be leery of filling it up because I imagine the old truck would collapse under the weight.



The tires are pretty much rotted rubber, but the wooden spokes would look really sharp if sanded, stained and sealed.



Not sure how easy it would be to get parts for it, especially for the old engine.



Seems to me that it would be worth more than 6 grand, especially if fixed up.

Face Project

Here's a photo I've published before, but put a simple frame around it and softened the edges with my FotoSketcher program.

Normandy 1944 - Then and Now

A fascinating look at houses and places along Normandy beach in 1944 compared to how they look today; here's one example from the site:





See more at:

Normandy 1944 - Then and Now

Smokey Looking

Click for larger view; it's done with my FotoSketcher program where it looks like an honest-to-goodness fake painting.

I Slept Through the Monsoon

This is a screenshot of my TV screen, taken just a few minutes ago; it's the local radar channel and has warnings when the weather is severe, as well as temps, wind speed and direction and total rainfall.



I'll crop and magnify the troubling details:



Surprisingly, it's fairly dry out for getting close to a hundred inches of rain earlier. I've always loved sleeping to the sound of rain, but I must have been really out of it because I didn't hear a single drop hit the roof last night.

I'm certainly glad I didn't hear the forecast yesterday evening, or I'd have spent my time building an ark.

I'm a little worried about the wind that's in store for today, though. Hope my lawn chairs don't wind up in Oklahoma.



Heck, I hope my pickup stays in the driveway. I might even need to lash down my anvil.

Volcano From Space

From NASA:

A fortuitous orbit of the International Space Station allowed the astronauts this striking view of Sarychev volcano (Russia’s Kuril Islands, northeast of Japan) in an early stage of eruption on June 12, 2009. Sarychev Peak is one of the most active volcanoes in the Kuril Island chain and is located on the northwestern end of Matua Island.