Tuesday 16 September 2008

click on to drill or not to drill

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420865,00.html

I'm not a fan of the interviewer's technique and opinionated ranting about opec members, he's fuelling the masses-using his position to properganda proportions

the russian deep wells are

allegidly 42000 feet deep, that's 7.95 miles deep.

a mile...

Why are there 5,280 feet to a mile? Why not a number like 5,000?

The measurement known as a mile is a vestige of the Roman Empire's rule over Britain. At this time, the Romans had a measurement known as mille pasuum (ME-lay PA-soo-em), or a thousand paces. A pace comprised five, possibly sandal shod, Roman feet. Using a simple mathematical calculation, we arrive at 5,000 feet per mile.

The demise of the Roman Empire left the Britons in a quandary. They now had a mile, consisting of 5,000 feet, and their own agricultural measurement, the furlong, used to measure the farmers' fields for the purpose of property deeds, etc. Instead of using the Roman foot in calculating the measure of a furlong, they used the distance a horse could pull a plow, in a linear fashion, before the nag needed a nap. They agreed that this measurement consisted 660 feet.

Now came the dilemma. The British wished to marry the furlong to the mile, but, as they wanted a mile to comprise eight furlongs, totaling 5,280 feet, instead of the Roman 5,000 feet per mile, they had no choice but to select one of the two. Not surprisingly, they chose their measurement over the Roman measurement because, as property deeds at the time were measured in furlongs, or 660 feet, a change to the Roman measurement would short the farmer or landowner.


from http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/mile.asp

embrace new technology-go get some of that oil

in response to alleged deep wells in russia

What is the diameter of the earth?

The diameter of the earth at the equator is 7,926.41 miles (12,756.32 kilometers).

But, if you measure the earth through the poles the diameter is a bit shorter - 7,901 miles (12,715.43 km). Thus the earth is a tad wider (25 miles / 41 km) than it is tall, giving it a slight bulge at the equator. This shape is known as an ellipsoid or more properly, geoid (earth-like).

more peak oil research

excited by another blog

I've begun another blog, in a place for third year art students to tell of their experiences through the final year. It feels good to have that outlet, this blog becomming much more of a record of the thoughts out loud of the day.