Monday, July 5, 2010

Left over mixed nuts


Gulf oil spill or do we call it a gusher?
There are numberous silly reports that the last ditch effort to contain this runaway well would be for the military to set off a nuke at the well head. That's not going to happen for several reasons. I may have mentioned the first a while back. When setting off a nuclear device underwater or underground like they did in the 1950s the force of the blast creates a bubble. In the underground tests the land rose up then slammed down so hard it created a creator. The sea floor in the well area is made of mud and sand. Setting off a device would cause the sea floor to glassify for about a few seconds then the force of the bubble would shatter that glass layer. End result would be that the shale below the mud and sand could fracture even more making the flow worse and possibly radio active. Remember there's a mile of water that would be slamming down on it. Each gallon weighing 8 pounds more or less.

Evacuation plan
And now the tin foil hat crowd thinks that there is a secret plan to move 50 million people from the gulf coast region and house them in detention camps in FEMA trailers in Missouri and elsewhere. Once again these nut jobs haven't done their homework. There is a plan that's been in the works for what to do in the event of another large hurricane like Katrina. Exactly what do you do with even a couple of million people or even a couple hundred thousand people for that matter when there is that much destruction? We saw what happened with Katrina. It could happen in other places as well with a flood or earthquake. I think that's why they call it "emergency management".

Gold what not to invest in
Seems everywhere you turn there an ad to buy gold. Gold that safe place to invest. Gold is going higher every day. Gold coins, gold bars, gold futures, gold jewlery, buy gold, sell your gold.
I say bunk!
I saw the exact same thing happen in the late 1970s and early 80s. Gold prior to that time was fixed at $35 an oz. It went as high as just under $900 an oz. And back then you couldn't own gold other than gold coins. Remember we went off the gold standard which backed our currency until it was discovered that Russia had a large stash and was about to flood the market. And of course our government wanted to make currency fluctuate enabling us to print money. That's a good and a bad story but I won't go into that now. Just like the housing bubble the gold prices have gone up and up but really. Stop for a moment and think. Is gold really worth what they say it is? In the 80s a two bedroom apartment in downtown Tokyo went for $2 million. That figure has since fallen to a more realistic level. We always think that our stuff is more valuable than it really is but the truth is it's only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it and if by some chance that gold rush fever takes hold then the price climbs creating the next bubble. Those unlucky enough not to notice get crushed when the sell off begins.
So like the kitty I think I'll just forgo the ride and keep my feet on the ground.

11 comments:

Tim said...

I think were screwed... I still have not been able to confirm bubbling gases in the water of the Gulf. There's been talk of it but I've not seen a video. When that happens I'm told it's time to evacuate the Gulf.

Unknown said...

I have been calling it the Gusher In The Gulf for quite awhile now. It ain't no friggin spill, that's for damn sure.

jmsjoin said...

Man made under water volcano! All that information is called conspiracy theory even in the explanation. You, its funny but under Bush those FEMA camps were supposedly built if we were overrun with illegal aliens. Many of us Dems thought they were for us. Republicans now say they are for them. Seems every time something happens the effected people think there is a conspiracy to send them there.

BBC said...

There are numberous silly reports that the last ditch effort to contain this runaway well would be for the military to set off a nuke at the well head. That's not going to happen for several reasons.

When did you become an expert on shit a mile under the ocean? If it was on a Russian gulf you can bet your ass they would have nuked it. But with a small nuke, you can make them any size you know.

Gold will always have that ring to it, it's a very old mind set and you can bet your butt that if things get really bad that it will be worth it to have some.

If for no other reason to trade some of it for sex or weapons.

S.W. Anderson said...

I think the well could be stopped with a conventional explosive if it was set up right. My idea is a shaped-charge explosive device that would be set up above the opening and aimed down into it. I'd put lead and iron L-shaped rods down in the opening. The idea is for the blast to drive the rods down in and melt them in place, creating a plug.

If the well opening is only through mud and sand, that probably wouldn't work. But I think there's sandstone beneath the sand.

Re: Gold. You're right about people setting themselves up to be victims of another bubble. I'll think about buying some when I can eat it, wear it or live in it.

The Blog Fodder said...

Glad I am "safe" in Ukraine. The Falkland Islands are starting to look safe again. ;)
Gold has always been a hedge against disaster. If you speculate on it you will get caught in a bubble, as you say but if you physically hold it for dire emergencies other than Armageddon, it should provide some basic security.

Demeur said...

I don't need to be an expert on nuclear tech. This is the reports by scientists and those that know in the industry that have far more knowledge that me. The Russians have been dumping their radioactive wastes off their eastern coast for years so you wouldn't want to go fishing or swimming there.

As for gold you can't eat it so what's it really worth?

SW The boys in the business report that the oil is trapped in layers of sand and shale. Not very stable. As for putting anything in the riser pipe forget it. Like trying to put a stick in a fire hose going full blast.

BBC said...

Blogger has really been screwing up the comments sections in our blogs, especially last evening.

As for the gusher, scientists are not always right, I'd be willing to try a nuke. And if it ruins the gulf coast, so what?

There will be a lesson in that, if they learn it.

Jolly Roger said...

And yet, the Klanbagger Klanservative Kandidates say in unison that we need even MORE deregulation, 'cause the corporations will police themselves!

My right wing relatives don't understand why I have such an unhidden contempt for them. How can I not have it?

BBC said...

I guess that there's over 10,000 abandoned wells in the gulf coast that may not be properly closed off, that's interesting.

But on the bright side, it sure was nice yesterday, I'll love this little heat wave and I don't even have air conditioning.

Randal Graves said...

Gold. Bah. I'm going to invest in Pogs.