Castuserraticus
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Posts posted by Castuserraticus
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Harps - You obviously have no idea of the economics of the oil business or how highly regulated the AB oil industry already is.
Tell you what. I'll give you the opportunity to put your money where your attitude is. My company is going to drill a well NE of Edmonton this winter on crown land. You put up $100,000 and we'll give you an interest in the well. I do have to warn you of a few things. It could be a dry hole. Then you're initial investment is gone and you're on the hook for an additional $20k to clean up and restore the lease, and for the next 10+ years for potential liability issues. If the drilling goes smoothly you'll only have to pay the $100k. If there're problems it could cost double that or more. And you better have all the documentation in place with regards to the safety regulations because if, god forbid, someone gets hurt you could end up loosing your home. This means we have to hire expensive knowledgeable people for every operation because even if someone does something incredibly we'll likely still have to share liability.
If it's successful you'll have to come up with more money to tie the well in - about another $100k. Hopefully the government will allow you to take the shortest route but they add various caveats that increase the cost. Because it's crown land, we're only allowed to access the well during frozen ground. If there's any problems in the summer you would have to pay your share for heavy lift helicopter access to fix it. If it's an early thaw access may be cut off meaning you won't see any cash until next winter. Also, because it's crown land, we need approval from the local native population to drill and tie-in the well. This is assuming bands from other areas of the AB, BC or Sask don't choose to intervene. They are not subject to the same boundaries as other Canadians. The native consultations are expensive.
So you put $200 k into drilling a gas well. That would give you initial cashflow of about $15,000 per month assuming a gas price of ~$6.50. The price today is less than $5 so having drilled the well in the winter when prices tend to be higher you're likely to be quite disappointed during the summer months. Unfortunately the production declines at about 2% per month on the average well so by the end of the first year you'll be receiving only $11,250. The well will be dead in about 5 years and then you better have saved some of the money because we have to abandon the well and restore the site. This will cost about $50k.
The long term average return on investment in the oil industry is about 6%. Do you want to bet your $200k alongside that of my shareholders in hopes we can do better?
I believe the cancer story and reserves you're referring to was broadcast some time ago in regards to reserves near Fort Chip. This area is nowhere near the oilsands. The areas in that report were around Lake Athabasca which sits in the geological Athabasca basin and is the site of some of the richest uranium deposits in the world.
I agree people are more rushed. I grew up in a tiny place where everyone knew everyone and the main activities were working and visiting. The Calgary activities are working and shuttling kids. However, I still find more friendly people than unfriendly. I do tend towards persistent optimism and enthusiasm.
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That's amazing. Wouldn't want to hit any rough patches.
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Most spills are small and are contained within the operating lease. Because the industry is so regulated, these have to be reported also. Only the largest incidents make the news.
I find friendly people every where. There's always a few grumps but smile and wish them a good day.
"Money and greed rules and it feeds of those who never made money like this in thier lives." I've met some wonderful, giving people who, through hard work, have built successful businesses and become wealthy. I can't imagine there's any real profit in exploiting poor people.
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Last count at about 250. Only got about 10 today so the count is really down. I put an extension on the Raid and sprayed down into the crack. The sound echoed - it sounds like huge cavern was down there.
I hung a paperbag decoy the first day but I guess since they were there first it doesn't bother them.
I tried running water into the crack. After 20 minutes there was still minimal flow back. I was afraid to soak it too much because I don't want the patio to frost heave in the winter.
I'm going to get some bags and pour dry sand down the crack to try and fill the space. Hopefully it'll flow into the pockets.
Swelling from the stings is finally going down. The best medicine seems to be Cold FX. Benadryl had no affect.
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One of the main reasons so many of the techniques look effortless is because of the haul he adds. His left hand is doing most of the rod loading. Looks like I've got another reason to head down to the river below my house. It should even the load between the back muscles. My right side has tended to get more fatigued.
There's another video that popped up (slick shooter lines) where the guy switches hands with about the same casting ability either right or left. There's another reason to skip work.
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Wow - 45 incidents from drilling nearly 20,000 wells, operating about 1/4 million producing wells, and tens of thousands of kilometers of pipelines. And this is with an influx of hundreds of inexperienced personnel over the past few years. That's an amazing safety record.
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I used to be a perfect attendance guy. One gorgeous morning I debated skipping but decided to go. I jumped on my bike for the commute only to find a flat tire. I quickly changed the tire and headed out. Twenty feet down the alley I hit a piece of glass and punctured a tire. I finally recognized the message and went fishing. I don't think I caught a thing that day but it was so enjoyable it has become a semi regular occurrence.
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I haven't fished the Elk since the new costs came in but it's an itch that will have to be scratched. I did it my pontoon boat before and that was interesting - trying to avoid rocks while fighting a fish - I just about fell in trying get the pontoon on line with where I wanted to go. It's sure a fun river.
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I'd ask them why a full beer is light enough to carry in but an empty is too heavy to carry out.
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I'd like to do all these places. I'd prefer not go to go with a dead person because it would be pain dragging the body from place to place and customs would be a real beyotch.
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Killed 10 more this morning. The nest is under a concrete patio. Spraying standard Raid into the crack between it and the foundation doesn't seem to be doing the job. I'll check the other chemicals. I sprayed last night hoping to get them in the nest. I need to be able to direct the spray ~6" into the ground.
My left arm is starting to look like Popeye's from the sting there.
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So we get back from holidays and my wife notices some yellow jackets buzzing around the back step and asks me to handle it. In the next couple of hours my son and I kill about 150 using badminton racquets and some raid. That was early yesterday afternoon. As of tonight, the count is easily over 200 and they finally seem to be gone. I was stung twice. (There are commercial bug racquets with wire mesh on the market but the badminton racquets work great.) I now know that if I ever stumble across wasp activity when fishing I'll be making a wide berth. I was stunned at how many were hiding under the cement patio.
Something that was really amazing was how many appeared out of nowhere immediately after I killed the first half dozen. All of a sudden there were at least a dozen new, agitated ones.
I took a picture of a portion of our kill but I'm not tech savvy enough to post.
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I think this is a very creative solution. They get their water by reducing evaporation and leakage from the irrigation canals. The animals are mobile and will adapt just as they did when the canals were put into previously dry areas.
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A bit late 'cause I just returned from vacation but for future reference - I fished O'Hara last summer for some short times during a family trip last year and had good luck. I slipped a tungsten bead above an olive GRHE (10-12), cast it out and let it sink (floating line). I then did a slow hand twist retrieve - essentially a chironomid technique from shore - and had three to hand in about 2 hours total time (evenings). The toughest part was keeping the steeple cast above the trees with the weighted nymph. The cuts were good fighters and hit hard.
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Neoprene = floatation
To empty waders - when you've reached water depth you can sit in, roll onto your stomach, get on hands and knees, extend one leg at a time up behind you allowing the water to drain down through the chest opening, repeat with the other. OR unclip your shoulder straps and stand up.
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I'm on the second Croakies "granny strap" with my action optics. Great thing about the neoprene is it floats - this has come in handy a couple of times - and the bright colour saves the question "Honey, where's my...".
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I have more experience in swift water from whitewater kayaking than fishing. The following is what I was taught and passed on when teaching newbies.
Clothes do not "drag you down". The air trapped in the fibers will help keep you afloat.
When floating, orient yourself with your head upstream and feet downstream to protect yourself from obstacles. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STAND until you are in quiet, shallow water. If you can sit on the bottom, it's safe to stand. The number one risk is foot entrapment (boulders, submerged logs, ledges, cracks). The Red Cross did a canoe safety video many years ago where an instructor died on film due to this - even with all the knowledgeable people and equipment present.
Back stroke towards the nearest shore.
Logjams were always my biggest fear. They're death traps with all the branches and roots. I had several friends have close calls.
We used to jump into rapids and float short sections in our life jackets to practice.
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A couple of my earliest shots were a bit blurry but worked when I turned on the motion compensation. It was likely because of low light conditions. One problem with fully auto is you don't know what the camera is picking for settings and have to do trial and error until you find which "scene" works for what you want.
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I'm liking the 770sw so far. I had a Canon before and it started eating memory cards. It'll take some getting used to. I used to alternate between shutter and aperature preferred with my old film SLR. The 770 doesn't allow this. You have to figure out which of the pre-set options approximates what you want.
I also have an issue with the camera re-setting itself every time it shuts off. The Canon was the same. I'd prefer that it remembers to start in motion compensation mode.
I'm looking forward to using the underwater feature next week at the Shuswap.
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Wow
In my experience, good and bad follow on each other. It's a balancing cycle to keep the ego in line. You should be in line for an amazing opportunity or three.
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I love rickr's description of the intensity of flycasting. I did a trip for salmon to Prince Rupert and a fly-in trip to northern Ontario for walleye and pike in the past few weeks. While they were enjoyable with lots of fish to the boat (and meat into the cooler) it seemed something was missing and rickr's description nailed it. Trolling blindly with lures and bait does not hold a candle to trying to "hit the spot" with a the fly while managing in mid cast where your line will fall. I guess the challenge for the trollers is in boat control.
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Here's another ladle to stir the pot with. I expect LY will enjoy this one.
http://www.dobmagazine.nickles.com/article...5FL90001%2Ehtml
I think the scientist here glosses over the most important info here. Our anthropogenic impact is obviously reaching to Mars now. tic
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Defense - What area of the city? What time of the day?
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The cause is likely natural. When core studies are done of ancient and modern stream deposits, we virtually always see alternating mud and coarser deposits. The changes are commonly very abrupt. Streambeds are not stable environments on any geological time scale.
As indicated by Griz, fishermen tend to be quietly happy when a new pool or drop off is formed by in-channel migration of bedforms and erosional down cutting and cry the blues when the same processes obliterate our favourite spot.
A sudden influx of a different sediment (mud in a gravel system or vice versa) is not likely to last. It indicates either a change in flow velocity (eg low water or flood) or sediment supply (eg landslide or large bank sloughing). The river will return to it's equilibrium state unless the change is massive.
Gotta Love The New Alberta
in General Chat - Fishing Related
Posted
Gee a guy works for a day and all heck breaks out.
Harps - my main point is there is already extensive regulation. If you want to talk about overall footprint and impact on the environment look at agriculture. The farmers I've talked to know they wouldn't survive if they were under the same regulatory scrutiny - chemicals, animal waste run-off, tillage practices, etc. It might be a good thing though as farming still ranks as one of the most dangerous careers there is. The oil industry is pretty safe these days.
We do take responsibility for our social and environmental impact. My hackles rise when a broad brush is directed at my livelihood.
On to your points:
If industrial development was so harmful to the animals and fish of Alberta they would have died off with all the agricultural and forestry development to date.
Steam bed disturbance and log crossings of streams is so 1970's. Portable steel bridges have been the fashion for a couple of decades for permanent water courses.
Our location is accessible via high ground. There are no water courses. Despite this we would still not be allowed summer access except by quad. If someone were to go in and vandalize the well (ala W. Ludwig) we would not have the choice of waiting for frozen ground.
I don't have a problem with local native and resident consultation as long as it's relevant. BC is claimed 6X over by bands from all over that province and Alberta. It's another layer of scrutiny our industry must pass.
There are no cutting corners in abandonment and reclamation. Every site is inspected and has to pass or the government makes you go back and do it again.
None of it is simple and when I lay the numbers I wonder why I'm in the business sometimes. Mainly what I want to counter is the erroneous view that the industry has carte blanche to pillage wherever and whenever it wants as you indicate is at the heart of your beliefs (quote). "Legislation provides a clear path for oil companies to follow when proposing a drill… with all the drilling that has gone on, you’d think that companies would know the procedure by now." We do know the procedures. Apparently you don't just as I know nothing about your job.
It's pretty hard to find any industry or activity that does not have an impact on the environment. The big fight is how much is acceptable and who sets the standard because everyone's differs. Fortuneately, we have learned from our past mistakes and made huge strides. First hand experience seems to be the only way change happens. Otherwise the Chinese would not be doing what they're doing.
On your final comment we need legislation to make mistakes of any kind illegal.
I look forward to meeting on the river bank some day. We can settle the argument with a casting contest as I drink very rarely. Hopefully, you can teach me some things. I'd rather be fishing than typing all this.
Cheers