Four O'Clocks at Nine O'Clock

In my front yard the other evening, nearly dark:

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Antelopes at Play, No Deer

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Took these just a few hours ago out on FM road 2391 near Hoover.

There were so many I couldn't get them all in one shot.

Killer Bees?

Aggressive bee swarm causes commotion

Posted: Wednesday, Jul 18, 2007 - 11:40:00 am CDT
By KERRI SMITH
Staff Writer
PAMPA NEWS (online)

Was Pampa under attack by killer bees Tuesday afternoon?

No one knows for sure, but five people were attacked and stung and had to seek medical attention after a swarm of bees stung them. Later, the 2300 block of Duncan was blocked off by police, fire and animal control personnel.

The story started to unfold around 10 a.m. Tuesday at Aljean Harmon's home at 2314 Duncan. Ron Ebel, who used to own Ebelbees in White Deer and is used to handling bees, had been called to the home to get rid of a bee hive.

REST OF STORY

Triple-Triple

This is the third in a fairly pathetic series about Patterson Rig #415. You can read the first part and then read the second part (or read the second THEN read the first - whatever floats your boat!)

(The "triple" part refers to the third post, of course, but the rig is also a "triple" which means it stands back three sections of pipe screwed together. There are smaller rigs that can handle only two lengths and are called "doubles". If I ever take photos of one of those rigs, I'll be limited to only two posts. -wink-)

The guys working the floor finally got used to me and ignored me as I took photos, which was good because I couldn't help but laugh at 'em when they started worrying about where they "were" in running the pipe in the hole. When going in the hole, it's necessary to stop every so often to "circulate" and they were having a hard time trying to figure out just where to stop the first time.

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This guy, the motorman, was the most experienced of all the crew. Here he's unlatching the elevators but keeping an eye on one of the other hands as he worries with the power tongs.

Those elevators are probably one of the most dangerous things on a rig. I've seen a guy get a tooth knocked out by unlatching before all the weight was off it and have seen, multiple times, someone latch onto pipe, then see their face go ghostly white...they'd latched a finger in with the pipe.

When flesh and iron collide, iron ALWAYS wins.

When going in the hole, just as they're doing here, the derrickhand needs to be very forceful when latching each stand, and always check to make sure the elevators have latched all the way.

If not, the stand can be picked up, that 90 foot length of three screwed together 4 1/2 inch diameter pipes that weighs #16.60 lbs./ft (about 1500 lbs.) and then it can suddenly come loose and drop one, two or even three feet...right onto your foot. Sure, you got steel toed boots on; now your toes are in the steel part, just pull what's left of your foot out of the boot. Your two-steppin's never gonna be the same again.

As I said, I was forbidden to get out on the floor, but disregarding that (I've always had a problem with authority) , I did step out and take a quick shot of the derrick hand as he leaned out to latch the stand.

Since I couldn't wander around the rig taking photos and I was getting hungry and it was getting late in the afternoon, I decided to return my borrowed hard hat and thank the rig boss, the "tool pusher" for allowing me to take some photos. As I was leaving, he hollered at me and asked if I wanted him to take MY picture. "Sure." I told him and struck a pose.

I've got my pants heisted up as far as they will go to keep my pants bottoms out of the mud and crud and dope and grease and this photo makes me look fatter than I actually am. (I'm fairly rotund anyway, but the camera adds pounds, so does a big roll around the tummy)

I enjoyed my brief visit to a drilling rig; I have a good friend living down the street who is a tool pusher for a local drilling contractor and I am going to ask him if I can go out to his rig and take some photos.

This rig is much nicer than most that I worked on, but I have worked on huge, deep-hole rigs, diesel-electrics with all the "comforts of home", refrigerator, microwave, steam heat...things you definitely won't find on the smaller rigs.

Things have changed a lot since I last worked on a rig; there are many more safety precautions than when I was roughnecking and drilling, such as dust masks and chemical aprons for mixing mud, there's a supervisor on the rig at all times, the rig crews hold regular safety meetings and get bonuses for no lost time accidents. I also never had the pleasure of using power tongs while tripping pipe, instead using the "spinning chain", arguably the most dangerous thing on a rig. (well, there's a worm with a water hose, but....) In fact, I can remember times using a rope to make up casing joints and "crummies", huge pipe wrenches, to join together tubing.

Use those crummies for a while, and like me, you too can be your home town arm wrestling champ.

Yup, "old school" for us old-timers. -sigh- Still, rough work requires rough men and that's something that will never change as long as we drill for oil and gas in this manner...and that will be a long, long time.

Potter Predictions & Presumptions

I'm a big HP fan. Oh, I'm not "fanatical" about the books and movies; I don't own a replica sorting hat or anything like that, but a dear friend of mine from Britain has sent me the UK versions of the softcovers and I have the entire US version set on order from Amazon, to be shipped as soon as it is released. I also have the last book on pre-order with the local Hastings Video store, but it's on backorder.

Ah, but there's the rub: I will not be able to go ANYWHERE on the 'net a day after the book is released (Friday, I think) without some jerk posting what happens. Now, I'm not so concerned, I was thinking I might very well skip to the back of the book as soon as I got my nicotine-stained fingers on it, find out what has happened.

I've given many possible endings some consideration and here's what I think will happen:

After wondering who was going to be killed, thinking it through as logically as my peabrain will allow, I'm now of a mind that it may be Neville that gets killed, he may very well have been "The Chosen One" in the prophecy. JKR said she WAS going to kill off three, but since has hinted that it's now only two of the main characters.

IMHO, there's no way she can kill off Harry. She's bright enough to know that that particular ending would be traumatic to the millions of young (and old) readers. I can't see it being either of the other two main characters, either . That's the love story.

I thought it might be Percy, he certainly needs to redeem himself in some manner after being such a twit...and what a horrible thing it would be to have both of the twins be killed and almost as bad if only one were to die. No, the Weasleys have suffered enough, what with Bill being bitten by a werewolf and Mr. Weasley's brush w/ death as well as Ginny in her first yr. at school.

(I love the Weasley's: I am going to post a silly little essay I wrote about them)

I think the other one to die must therefore be Snape. I think Snape will ultimately be who Dumbledore always said he was, someone who has turned away from the Death Eaters.
I think the title "Deathly Hallows" will be something like the plural of "Hollow", wasn't that the name of the place where HP's parents lived? (Godric's Hollow? I said I was a fan, not a fanatic)

Snape will die to save Harry or one of the other main characters, perhaps even Neville, giving him the chance to destroy Voldemort. I also think Draco will play a fairly major part in this duel and I hope he too will reject being a Death Eater...but I really don't know, there are so many ways Draco Malfoy could figure into the mix.

I think that Neville's parents were killed nearby on the same night, and I think that's where the final showdown will take place and where Harry will meet his match, fail in his duel to the death with Voldemort and Neville will step in to save him and be killed in the process. I also think Wormtail will have to help Harry in some way, perhaps be alive when Voldy dies and maybe won't kill the defenseless HP. Wormtail owes HP a life debt.

I do think Wormtail will have a major role in summing up the story; I'm wondering if his new hand isn't a Horacrux...then again, that's not something that really concerns me, but Wormtail does. He is also another that needs to redeem himself and he's much more central to the plot than is generally realized. He and Lupin are the only surviving members of the old gang of four Hogsworth buddies, and I also wonder if Lupin won't be killed in a duel with the werewolf that bit him.

I think JKR has really wanted a bloodbath in this last book, figuring her readers from the start can handle the violence, the ones that were Harry's age when they first read Sorcerer's Stone(Philosopher's Stone in the UK version) and now are nearly out of their teens!

It may very well be that when Voldemort and HP have their final battle that V. saps Harry's powers, returning them to himself. Yep, I think that Harry might well not have had any/as much power except for that which was transferred to him as a baby in the attack, the one that left the scar on HP's forehead. He (Harry) has always has a split personality, a dark side, and I think that was imparted to him via the failed killing curse.

I'm also thinking that the phoenix will have some part to play in saving the day, or at least saving HP's life. It has only given up two feathers for wands...Harry's and Voldemort's. It saved Harry's life before because Harry had shown such devotion and loyalty to Dumbledore, and I believe the phoenix was left to Harry by him upon his death.

JKR has left so many red herrings in the books, "clues" which have turned out...or perhaps WILL turn out...to have no meaning at all nor add anything to the basic plot. She may very well have some interesting plot twists and turns, but I cannot envision Harry being killed to end the book.

Ms. Rowling has also shown a brilliance combining the parts of magic that we all remember from childhood fairy tales...unicorns, trolls, wands, etc. and has created some delightful parts of magical life, such as Quidditch, schools for witches and wizards, enchanted candy...as I said, the only description is "delightful". Those things are my favorite parts of the movies.

The author (recently labeled 2nd richest woman in entertainment in the world, just behind Oprah) has also done a masterful job of getting deeper and darker, more dangerous with each passing year in the lives of these young people. I consider it an object lesson to "real" young people, that as you grow older, the world opens up to you but also becomes more dangerous. It's also a classic tale of good vs. evil, rebels against the establishment and this last book will be the magical equiv. of The Gunfight at the OK Corral. High Noon with wands.

Really looking fwd. to the last book and the final two movies, but I am already sad that it has to end.

Parnell

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I was driving along Hwy 70 last week and decided to detour down Farm-to-Market road 283. I hadn't been down that road in over 20 years, I believe.

I stopped and took a photo of this historical marker; it tells of a town that used to exist just to the east of the spot. If you'll view the larger photo, you will be able to read how there was a controversy over where the county courthouse would be located. I think that's a pretty common history for a lot of areas in Texas and even through this country... men with property wanting to make their property more valuable by siting the govt. nearby or making sure the railroad went through the nearest town.

(Roberts County map - Parnell is nearly dead center in that graphic)

While reading the plaque, I noticed a bird had pooped all over "Miami". That must have been a Briscoe bird. On the other hand - claw?- the mess is also on "contested elections".

That'd be a liberal bird, still squawking.