Minggu, 30 Mei 2010

Procrastination hack: '(10 2)*5' | 43 Folders

Procrastination hack: '(10+2)*5'

Merlin Mann | Oct 11 2005

Following on the idea of the procrastination dash and Jeff’s progressive dash, I’ve been experimenting with a squirelly new system to pound through my procrastinated to-do list. Brace yourself, because it is a bit more byzantine than is Merlin 2005’s newly stripped-down habit. It’s called (10+2)*5, and today it will save your ass.

Who it’s for

procrastinators
the easily distracted
compulsive web-surfers
people with a long list of very short tasks (a/k/a “mosquitos”)
people having trouble chipping away at very large tasks

What you’ll need

a timer
- must be easy to reset
- electronic kitchen timer is particularly good (pref. with multiple alarm memories), or
- an app like Minuteur (get the newest version—several cool new features)
a reduced subset of your to-do list
- tasks that can be worked on (not necessarily completed) in blocks of 10 minutes or less
- GTD people: next actions only, please
an hour of your time (less is potentially okay, but it’s non-canonical)
your sorry, procrastinating ass

How it works

It’s called “(10+2)*5” and here’s why:

10 - Work for ten minutes with single-minded focus on moving toward completion on a single task. Ten minutes, and that’s all you’re allowed to do is work, work, work. No cheating, because (DING!) you actually get a break when you’re done…
2 - After ten minutes of sweaty, dedicated work you get a 2-minute break to do whatever you want—drink coffee, read 5ives, call your bookie, whatever. When the two minutes are up, it’s back to work on the next task on your list. This is important.
*5 - You’re going to iterate this four more times for a total of one hour’s working/breaking

Important squirrely rules

You do not need to ﬁnish your task or your project in ten minutes; you just need to move it forward
If you ﬁnish a satisfying amount of work in fewer than ten minutes, STOP, and go right to your 2-minute break, than start another 10-minute dash
Do NOT skip breaks! You are not allowed. Breaks cannot be missed. Period. Go surf the web. Now. Seriously. GO!

What will happen

You’ll blaze through an hour’s worth of work/not work and will ﬁnd yourself looking forward to both the breaking and working parts of the cycle. (Dang, how’s that for a change?)

The MacGufﬁn

The Now Habit
by Neil Fiore

Okay, you caught me. That’s the hack: you can and eventually will skip breaks.

In his (extremely wonderful) The Now Habit, Neil Fiore suggests a similar habit of “unscheduling,” where you only make obligations to the things that you enjoy and that are not the source of procrastination. John Perry suggests “Structured Procrastination,” where you only give high priority to “unimportant” tasks. Of course, this is taken to a hilarious extreme with Joshua Newman’s plan for scheduling just a few minutes of work per hour, and then focusing on the “more important” tasks like DVD re-arranging.

Kamis, 27 Mei 2010

sad truth we need oil drillers "more than they need us" james altucher says: Tech Ticker, Yahoo! Finance

The Oil Drum | Drumbeat: May 27, 2010

BOPE Man on May 27, 2010 - 11:16am

"BP sets stage for Disaster"

No oil and gas well ever drilled has gone exactly to plan, or without mistakes being made. The Upstream Industry has learned the hard way. The path to todays drilling (well construction) approach is littered with terible loss events, and awash with lessons. But the fact is that todays drilling approach allows for mistakes to be made, simply because wells do not always behave as planned, and the execution of each step of the well construction plan relies on people. Contingency measure after contingency measure is layered over the average well construction plan such that if one, two, three, or even more consecutive issues occur and stack up against the well construction team there remains the cability on hand to identify there is a problem, to secure the well, and to plan and effect an appropriate remedial plan.

Yes a number of issues were stacking up against the well contruction team on Mississippi Canyon 252 #1-01 well on the night of the tradgey. Issues such as a communication path between the reservoir (oil and gas) and the well bore, the choice of casing plan and related well barriers, etc. However up until around 21:45 there remained the cability on hand to identify there was a problem, to secure the well, and to plan and effect an appropriate remedial plan to deal with the issues that had stacked up.

Unfortunately, at around 21:47 the Annular BOP opened releasing the immense energy that had accumulated beneath it (gas), energy that on release evacuated (ejected) the drilling riser of fluids in seconds. Thousands of gallons of fluids entering the workspace (drill floor) at almost jet force would have made any subsequent action to try to regain control of the well very difficult.

Much has been made about the issues that stacked up against the well construction team on that night, the cement program, the cement quality, the casing program, the testing program, etc etc, however the point remains that until around 21:45 the team still had the ability on hand to identify there was a problem, to secure the well, and to plan and effect an appropriate remedial plan to deal with the issues that had stacked up. The BOP Annular was closed and was capable of containing pressure build up as a result of the leak path between the reservoir and the well bore. There were other BOP Ram Preventers available of high pressure rating than the BOP Annular Preventer to call upon if required. With this contingency at hand (the last layer of contingency in any well construction plan), why did it still go so wrong?

I would offer that the real question is why did the BOP annular open? Did it fail? Was it opened by mistake? Was it opened thinking there was no hazardous gas build up below it? The investigation team will undoubtedly determine the truth.

I can also offer that in the Drilling Industry the Driller (the man that operates the drilling machine integrated into the rig structure) has two Golden Rules when it comes to well control:
#1, if there is any doubt whatsoever about a possible influx of formation fluid into the well bore then the well must be shut in (close the BOP), he requires approval from no-man for this action
#2, if the BOP has been closed for whatever well activity the Driller must be assured that doing so will not result in a hazardous situation for him, his team and all with him at the worksite. He requires approval from the worksite supervisors for this action.

The mud logger charts (main drilling parameter record) for the period 20:00hrs through 21:50hrs as presented at the Senate hearing show clear indicators of a problem with the well. There was more flow coming back from the well than going in, there was additional pressure where there should not have been. Evaluation and interpretation of these charts is an essential part fo providing the Driller the assurance he needs that opening the BOP Annular will not result in a hazardous situation.

If the BOP Annular was opened by the well construction team the other question undoubtedly being asked by the investigation team is whether suitable and sufficient evaluation and interpretation of the drilling parameter records was undertaken prior to authorising the opening of the BOP Annular?

The time line on the mud logger chart suggests around 15 minutes (from 21:30hrs to around 21:45hrs) may have been available for the well construction team to evaluate and interpret why there was pressure under the BOP Annular when there shouldnt have been.

15 minutes is not a long time to consider this kind of situation. Given that there had been a number of issues going on with this well since the casing was run and cemented (a lot of red flags were flying) there should have been the highest degree of awareness on every subsequent step of the operation. This means the full attention of all supervisors at all times. So, assuming again that the BOP Annular was opened by the team, why was there only a few minutes spent deciding the next step when the biggest red flag of them all (pressure under the BOP Annular) was waving.

Thanks for reading.

Blowout

Sabtu, 22 Mei 2010

oil-halliburton-cement-052010jpg-e618a2271a66c847.jpg (JPEG Image, 570x1024 pixels)

oil-halliburton-cement-052010jpg-e618a2271a66c847.jpg (JPEG Image, 570x1024 pixels)

Well bore sketch possible entry thought blowout Horizon

Obama's An Idiot

Obama's An Idiot

Joke

More Truth Than Bullshit

Barack Obama met with the Queen of England.

He asked her, "Your Majesty, how do you run such an efficient government? Are there any tips you can give to me?"

"Well," said the Queen, "the most important thing is to surround yourself with intelligent people."

Obama frowned, and then asked, "But how do I know the people around me are really intelligent?"

The Queen took a sip of tea. "Oh, that's easy; you just ask them to answer an intelligent riddle." The Queen pushed a button on her intercom. "Please send Tony Blair in here, would you?"

Tony Blair walked into the room and said, "Yes, my Queen?"

The Queen smiled and said, "Answer me this please, Tony, your mother and father have a child. It is not your brother and it is not your sister. Who is it?"

Without pausing for a moment, Tony Blair answered, "That would be me."

"Yes! Very good," said the Queen.

Obama went back home to ask Joe Biden, his vice presidential choice the same question. "Joe, answer this for me. Your mother and your father have a child.
It's not your brother and it's not your sister. Who is it?"

"I'm not sure," said Biden. "Let me get back to you on that one.." He went to his advisors and asked every one, but none could give him an answer. Finally, he ended up in the men's room and recognized Colin Powell's shoes in the next stall.

Biden asked Powell, "Colin, can you answer this for me? Your mother and father have a child and it's not your brother or your sister. Who is it?"

Colin Powell yelled back, "That's easy, it's me!"

Biden smiled, and said, "Thanks!" Then, he went back to speak with Obama. "Say, I did some research and I have the answer to that riddle. It is Colin Powell!"

Obama got up, stomped over to Biden, and angrily yelled into his face, "No! You idiot! It's Tony Blair!"

AND THAT MY FRIENDS IS WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR GOVERNMENT.

Rabu, 19 Mei 2010

Saving VRS

Video Relay Service (VRS) enables persons who use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment, rather than through typed text (like the old TTY). Videoconferencing equipment, videophone, or computer and webcam links the VRS consumer with an interpreter/operator - referred to as a "Communications Assistant" (CA) - so that the deaf consumer and the CA can communicate with each other in sign language and via voice to the hearing participant. VRS has become tremendously popular.

High VRS rates paid to service providers - and lax supervision - led to fraud and arrests.

Recent proposals to lower the rates significantly have generated protests from the largest VRS service providers.

I want to highlight that the following proposals are my own individual opinion. I consult for a sign language interpreting agency, but not for any VRS providers.

Modest proposition for reforming Video Relay Services (VRS):

1. Separate the telecommunications/technical/bandwidth section of VRS from the sign language interpreters.

To become a licensed VRS provider, a service provider must supply not only the technical side but also hire sign language interpreters. The types of businesses have nothing in common and should be licensed and paid separately.

Major telecommunications companies (ATT, Sprint, Verizon) ought to be able to bid on providing the telecommunications piece of VRS calls without worrying about hiring ASL interpreters.

2. Have the FCC assign a 10 digit geographical phone number to each deaf consumer - not providers.

As it stands at the present, 10 digit numbers are assigned by the default VRS service provider who initially signed up a deaf individual for VRS service. Unless the deaf caller has the technological confidence to adapt the equipment, any calls he or she makes is handled through the default provider.

SorensonVRS has taken about 70% of the VRS market by aggressively promoting VRS and by giving away their VP-200, a simple but effective videoconferencing device. Switching providers is possible but cumbersome.
Emergency calls - e911 - are now the responsibility of the individual VRS service providers. I would pass this to a central organization or to the telco who wins the technical bid for VRS.

10 digit numbers permitted fraudulent VRS calls to be directed to a particular agency.

3. Let sign language interpreting agencies bid on providing just ASL interpreters.

Communication Assistants (CAs) are the sign language interpreters who use video to communicate with deaf callers and who voice to hearing callers over standard telephone lines.

In late 2009, fraud involving interpreter subcontractors representing VRS service providers nearly ruined Video Relay Services for the deaf. The FBI arrested a number of asl interpreters in 9 states who were inflating VRS minutes and bilking the TRS fund out of tens of millions of dollars.

4. Least cost routing.

Instead of having calls directed to the default provider, I would have all calls to 10 digit numbers registered to the deaf routed through a central switch.

Sign language interpreting agencies would then submit bids to the FCC for providing CAs. Calls would be routed to the agency with the lowest bid who had an interpreter free to accept the call.

At this time, VRS service providers are compensated per minute of interpreting. Proposals for new, lower rates have produced claims that the new rates will drive providers into insolvency.

By having the service providers bid on what it costs them to handle VRS calls - at a cost and with a income they would be able to accept - the fight over rates would disappear.

5. NAD/RID Certification for CAs.

As it stands now, the FCC allows VRS providers to determine the qualifications of their interpreters. This allowed criminal agencies to hire unqualified interpreters to process "run calls" and bilk the government.

Everyone would be better served if each CA met a minimum level of competence in ASL, and had something to lose if they engaged in fraud.

The National Association for the Deaf (NAD) and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) have certification programs in place. CA certification could be easily added.
Every CA would have his or her own identification number. Complaints or fraud could then be tracked to the exact individual responsible. Bad interpreters can be weeded out of the system.

Pass legislation to allow the FCC watchdogs to examine random phone calls, much like wiretapping regulations for police.

Privacy is a serious concern. Attention would have to be taken not to record genuine conversations. Monitoring could be restricted to 30 or 60 seconds unless suspicious activity is present.

However, fraud is tough to catch or prevent if calls can't be checked at random.

Conclusion:

Market forces through least cost routing provide a viable technique to decrease the cost of VRS calls to the government, maximize efficiency in the sign language agencies, and keep the rates at a point that allows VRS service providers to survive.

=====

Charles Lamm is a retired attorney now serving as a legal/technical consultant for Accessible Communication for the Deaf (ACD) in Sunrise, Florida - ACDVRI - News for ASL Interpreters

Selasa, 18 Mei 2010

Possible non-OPEC oil supply surge to put pressure on prices?

To be sure, data points from only two years shouldn’t make us rush to believe that world oil is undergoing a shale gas type surge in productive capacity. In fact, it’s not. Analysis strongly suggests that the production surge in 2009 and 2010 will not repeat; in other words, non-OPEC oil output is not expected to grow in 2011 and the foreseeable future. So, against a backdrop of resurgent demand from emerging economies that means that a bias to higher oil prices over the next 12 to 24 months remains (notwithstanding another economic meltdown).

Yet those in the oil business shouldn’t be too complacent in recognizing the significance of the mini-tsunami of non-OPEC oil that hit the markets in 2009, at the same time as the financial crisis washed out the demand side. In fact, it was OPEC that took excess barrels off the market, sacrificing market share, which is why the cartel’s collective spare productive capacity tripled in the past two years, going from 2.0 MMB/d to 6.0 MMB/d.

Looking back five years ago, the opening words to my book, A Thousand Barrels a Second, were, “We are not running out of oil. We are running out of cheap oil.” Implicit in these words were that price of this vital commodity had to rise up from the then $30.00/B, because of looming scarcity in the face of rising demand.

Senin, 17 Mei 2010

Why Marriage is Important for LGBT Couples

Personal and economic commitments are at the core of matrimony. Love, honor, obey - and support.

At the core of the gay marriage deliberation is the absense of equality and evident discrimination based on sexual preference. Marriage is sanctified by religious ceremonies where a man and a woman stand up in front of their families, friends, and for believers, before God, and declare their commitment to each other and only to each other.

LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) couples also desire to publicly affirm their promise for the same reasons as straight couples - love and support. For myself, I am not so sentimental.

Unfortunately, the federal government and the majority states confer exclusive, exceptional benefits only to married couples made up of one man and one woman. In the United states, married couples receive more than 1,300 legal and monetary benefits not offered to unmarried individuals. That is just on the national level with regard to taxes, estates, housing, employment, survivor, social security, and military dependents, along with others.

One of the fundamental flaws of democracy is mob rule. We have protections in the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights which are set out to protect individuals, but governments have created ways to benefit one group above another predicated on race, gender, national origin, or sexual preference.

In the situation of 1,300+ benefits in favor of married couples, the pair must be one man and one woman. All other partners need not apply.

To confine marriage privileges and benefits solely to opposite gender partners required the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996. This law prohibits the federal government from acknowledging anything other than a one man-one woman marriage and permits the states to disregard same-sex marriages performed in other states.

In a one-page law, Congress discarded "equal protection" based on sexual preference and the "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution which requires states to recognize marriages performed in other states.

For instance, when I was growing up in Virginia, couples too young to get married would drive to South Carolina to lawfully get married then come back home. Virginia would acknowledge the "underage" marriage as legitimate. (Before 1967, however, Virginia would not recognize interracial marriages performed in other states.)

Most gay partners want to have their commitments revered as are traditional marriages.

Until same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, and civil unions are acknowledged by the federal government, LGBT and alternative families will have to rely on a mixture of a Secure Couple LLC ™ and additional legal documents to achieve even a small percentage of the 1,300+ legal and monetary benefits available to married couples.

Visit http://securecouplellc.com for more information on how to arrange your life to assert your relationship until the general public and society catch up with reality.

Charles F. Lamm is a retired attorney now supporting Secure Couple LLC - http://www.securecouplellc.com - for couples who cannot or who choose not to marry.

Minggu, 16 Mei 2010

Kent Wells Tour 14 May, 2010

Kent Wells Tour 14 May, 2010

video

Jumat, 14 Mei 2010

The Oil Drum | Crystals, the Gulf of Mexico Blowout, and the new 'Top Hat' Dome

The Oil Drum | Crystals, the Gulf of Mexico Blowout, and the new 'Top Hat' Dome

hydrates and scale

The Oil Drum | Is 70,000 barrels a day a possibility for the oil spill?

Fractional_Flow on May 14, 2010 - 10:50am

I still haven't seen it.

The seal assembly in the wellhead was tested to 10,000.

Prior to displacing the riser, a positive pressure test held.

The negative pressure test showed 1,400 psi on the drillpipe and 0 psi on the choke and kill lines. If the drillpipe contained seawater and the choke and kill lines contained mud prior to displacing the riser than this is exactly what the pressure should read.

In the last 120 seconds something let go and the standpipe pressure went from 1,500 psi to 5,800 psi. I can't imagine what the men on the rig floor were going through then.

Kamis, 13 Mei 2010

Missing data causing rig reconstruction mystery - Yahoo! News

Missing data causing rig reconstruction mystery - Yahoo! News

Howco hands say there was a leak on tests

Rabu, 12 Mei 2010

Pat Dollard | Young Americans | Blog Archive � “Obama’s Use Of This Social Security Number Is Fraudulent”

Jumat, 07 Mei 2010

Oil-Rig Disaster Threatens Future of Offshore Drilling - Bloomberg

Oil-Rig Disaster Threatens Future of Offshore Drilling - Bloomberg lots of info

Senin, 03 Mei 2010

The Oil Drum | Tech Talk: Progress on the Gulf oil leak and comments on cementing pipes and well completion

The Oil Drum | Tech Talk: Progress on the Gulf oil leak and comments on cementing pipes and well completion
Kheris on May 3, 2010 - 3:14pm

Came across this elsewhere, a tuna fisherman describes the events from his bird'eye view directly at the rig where the tuna were biting moments before the Deepwater lit up. Complete with pictures.

Petrographer on May 3, 2010 - 8:03pm

Kheris, great find, thanks for digging this up and posting the link.

It's an eyewitness account from two guys out tuna fishing right below the Deepwater Horizon on the night of April 20th. One of the guys had worked offshore, and from the story, that experience probably saved his life, as he knew what the "kick" they were watching meant, and yelled for his buddy to get their boat away from their fishing spot by the platform ASAP, which they did.

I've excerpted the following verbatim, with spelling/grammar errors as is, from this account that Kheris linked to above.

ROCKMAN; as I read through the story that these two tell, it sure sounds like the unconfirmed report you heard and which you posted around 12:30 pm today, which is that someone on the platform missed seeing the well kicking back at them until the ship reported the disconnect between the tanks full of mud vs. the amount of mud that should have been pumped, is a very plausible explanation. And, when someone up top did recognize the kick, it was too late. Methane was already venting (the eyewitness account of the decibel level is scary), and when power was cut the backup system started up but sparked, and that caused the initial explosion.

Their observations are VERY interesting, and if these two eyewitnesses are right, it was the start-up of the backup electrical power system that caused the initial explosion:

Around 10pm the entire center of the rig started rushing water downwards over all the pipes... I've never seen such an event take place. I looked at my friend who previously worked offshore, and he said that's BOP something another and the rig took a 'kick!' I thought the rig was sinking and that was their way of bilging... But nope! Methane gas began BLOWING out of the West side of it and the noise of the thrust was louder than anything I've ever herd (except for a sonic boom I herd once, and what I'm about to tell you next) My eyes began to burn and that friend I was telling you about earlier began to SCREAM, "GO, GO, GO, GO, GOOOOO!" I positioned my compass North and put the gears in WOT! At approximately 100 yds from the rig it Exploded! Puts a new meaning to explosion.

The rig continued EXPLODING. A very large crew boat was tied to the rig as it blew and the ppl began rafting to that boat as it floated away slowly. I got on the radio to try to help and they told me to stay away for safety. The rig blew a few more explosions after that and began to burn down. Some of the rig began dripping into the water and the platform tilted in and turned RED HOT.

When the gas started blowing out the side of the rig they turned off the power to prevent electrical spark which would ignite the gas, but when they shut power the generator kicked on and thats all she wrote!

The Oil Drum | Tech Talk: Progress on the Gulf oil leak and comments on cementing pipes and well completion

ROCKMAN on May 3, 2010 - 1:27pm

I DO NOT HAVE CONFIRMATION OF WHAT I’M ABOUT TO SAY!!!!

Did everyone hear that? Maybe true…maybe just BS. But just heard a story re: the displacement of the drilling mud with sea water from the riser. The mud was being pumped into a boat at the rig. Normal procedure. But at one point the boat captain notified the rig his tanks were almost full. But that didn’t match the volume of mud that could have been pumped in the time span.

What this might mean: when you’re drilling and you stop to add a new section of drill pipe you monitor the return mud tank. When you stop your mud pumps, the flow of mud from the well bore should also stop. If it doesn’t then something down hole must be pushing the mud up and out… oil/NG/water or any combination. That’s why you do a “flow check”. To make sure the hole is static. Pure speculation on my part based upon the unconfirmed report of excessive mud pumped to the boat: the well started coming in and no one was monitoring the flow back. There are also electronic monitors to watch for this but they don’t work very well (or at all) during such an offloading op.

But if true this goes a long way toward explaining why the accident happened so fast. As others have mentioned there are procedures to kill a kick or an actual well flow. But those actions are only taken when you know they well is coming at you. As we say in the oil patch: “When you see it coming at you through the kelly (the drill floor) you’re probably already dead.”

Minggu, 02 Mei 2010

t r u t h o u t | Whistleblower: BP Risks More Massive Catastrophes in Gulf

SkyTruth

SkyTruth

Blowout schematic

http://blog.skytruth.org/2010/04/gulf-oil-spill-6-million-gallons-per.html

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhNZ59s5tkZaGiSO56cZD3y98PGLajOj0tjDXAZEFmQLzJlIHpq8hzaoI5RsqmjOcK5IYjQIyvXlHD8DTrT3JCCjwzmi35XZuh66BGq7HDXqKN9RPyFFlxmiUOl7mmZcvl9StVvVtp5AR/s1600/oilslickundergraphicjpg-57e28ddd55b0847f.jpg