PTINS

Not sure if any place has ever run out of oil, but I understand your tongue-in-cheek point. The last wave of US refining modernization in the 80's-90's saw a shift in refining capacity from a domestic slate of a lighter, sweeter crude oil to a foreign slate of heavier, sour crude oil. The US production was continuing to decline and the production growth was coming from the middle east and South America. When the US learned how to extract oil from shale, drilling and fracturing a 10,000 foot horizontal lateral instead of drilling vertically though the 100 foot seam, domestic production went from the "end of the Permian Basin" to the US being self sufficient in oil production for the 50+ years. Though the production volumes are much higher, it is a much lighter slate that yielded lower quantities of transportation fuels than the heavier crude slate. To maximize refining yields, the US imports the heavier crude oil and exports the "excess" higher oil. In the graphic below, the oil produced in the Permian (Delaware & Midland Basin's) is similar to Eagle Ford (South Texas)- Bakken (North Dakota) grades. The imported crude, not unlike Jed Clampett's bubbling crude, would be heavier than the Canadian Crude.

There were many here against Sark for so many reasons. There were also many favorable data points that were overwhelmingly positive, and a lot of supposedly smart people overlooked those facts and memorialized their idiocy for eternity. No one will have the stage set up like VY had. USC was the 2 time defending National Champions w/ 2 Heisman Trophy winners, and USC and Texas were ranked 1 and 2 in every poll, all year long. No question who the best 2 teams were. Texas v. Hollywood. The Rose Bowl.

Others here have answered more completely. I look at it very simply...how many of each does Russia have? 1. Leaders, 1, Putin 2a. Nuclear Power Plants, #? 2b. Conventional Power Plants, #? 3. Ammo Depots 10-12 4. Air Bases #?, 50-100?, planes??? 5. Navy Bases #?, only Crimea/Sevastopol really matters 6. Tanks, vehicles, troops, etc. a whole bunch of everything else... #1 & 2 a&b are off limits, for good reason. Given the smallish number of potential targets, hitting the ammo depots gives you the ... most bang for for the bucks. Ukraine's ingenuity in progressing their offensive capabilities cannot be understated. Based on the following, everything in western Russia is within range. The first plot shows the Ammo Depots referenced in this thread, and those of which have been targeted. The second plot is the same plot, adding the Oil Refineries that have been targeted. Great summary. Russia's dependence on rail really reduces the practical size of Russia's infrastructure, and Google Earth has brought spy satellite capability to your desk top. Sprinkle it with some homemade weapons, and a big badda boom! Zeihan is now reading Surly. Does not mean that I will read Zeihan. My comments below are not meant to inflame or be argumentative, but, given Surly, ... They are also not meant as a direct response to what was posted. The posts were thought provoking, and this was a convenient way to offer additional information. The US has always been isolationist, ... except when it was in our best interest to intervene. After WWII, with our new military capability and vastly superior economic power, the US "projected" our influence across the globe. By the early 70's, British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell, and the US dominated the world oil production portfolio. Texas was but a subset of that mindset, political power without the military and economic influence. By far, the US had the largest oil refining capacity in the world, which was the touch point for most consumers. The US consumption was much greater than the production, with foreign imports satisfying the imbalance. A substantial portion of US oil imports, and of the refining capacity, was to serve the international markets. Our consumption on paper included consumption that happened elsewhere. The Arab Oil Embargo in 1973 derailed that freight train. The growing world economy and insatiable thirst for drastically energy shifted the power profile, and transfer of wealth, from the consumers to the producers. The US policies of regulating domestic oil and gas prices did not work in a global market. Right or wrong, the US Oil & Gas Industry, became the lighting rod for everything that was wrong, and Texas was the focal point. "Drive 75 and freeze them alive!" certainly didn't help that mindset. Right or wrong, everything the US Oil & Gas Industry did, the US was against. The Existential domestic fight for survival compromised their worldwide influence on a critical commodity and created a power vacumn that invited other "outside" influences from across the globe. Over time, Iran, China and Russia, filled that void, and here we are. ...to do the right thing ...once we've exhausted all other possibilities. (see below) Our Au Pairs (no pics. stop reading here) from Germany (2) , Norway and South Africa gained a lot of weight in the first 9-10 months they were here, and lost most of it before they went home. Annika from Finland never gained the weight. Exposure to Texas BBQ, Mexican food and cajun food tends to do that. The first time Heike saw us eating oysters and gumbo at Willie G's on Post Oak, she was astonished, scared and ready to go back home. I took her to HEB and it took forever to get through the produce area, she wanted to know what each thing was, most of which I didn't know. Why do you need so many kinds of apples? Laila from Norway gained 70 lbs and lost 60 of it her last 2 months. Her description of Norwegian food, was "food without spices." One thing they all had in common. If they put it on their plate, they ate it. They did not waste food. We always made them their favorite meals before they left. It was looked like a combination of a free buffet and a last meal on death row, head down and shoveling down the food like there was no tomorrow. They all took a lot spices home with them. Crawfish without the crawfish boil spices? Fuck that shit! When I graduated in '79, I had to write a speech on the biggest challenges we faced as college graduates. Three Mile Island and the Iranian Revolution topped the news, and as a Mechanical Engineering graduate - (Energy & Fluid systems), I talked about energy production. Duh!!! (I've realized over the years, that growing up as an Air Force Brat expanded my horizons and exposed me to many things. At the same time, growing up on an Air Force Base also was a very sanitized, and protected existence, with everything I was exposed to carefully selected by others, for a reason. The NCO Club was next to the Bowling Alley, and the Officer's Club was next to the Gold Course. That was the only class distinction I saw til I moved back to Texas when I was 10 years old. I never really felt deprived until I came to UT, and was exposed to differences between the haves and the have nots.) After 40-50 years, energy production and supply and demand is still a challenge. Some things changed, and some things have not. Ignorance people are still ignorant. And bullies still pick on little kids. The people of the Second Army of the World, and billions of people don't don't have indoor plumbing and burn coal in their homes for cooking and heat. They burn coal without any alternative. The natural progression should be from freezing to death -> burn wood -> burn coal -> burn oil - burn gas-> ???, with a layering of nuclear power and renewable's where its practical and economics support doing so. Widespread US consumption of natural gas has happened in my lifetime, and half the world has never seen the benefits of natural gas, yet the global mindset is adamant that we need to stop using it. Because "we" have options. Most people don't. We, the US, prefer to be isolationists, until it suits us to be something else. We, the US, are an economic and industrial powerhouse, rich in resources and isolated geographically. We have projected our ideals and beliefs on a world, that really has little in common with us. The freedoms we sometimes take for granted become more cherished when we see how hard others have to fight to get them in the first place. Powerful stuff. I'm paraphrasing "Your work, the work of 400 people, is saving millions of Ukrainians." I'm betting Zelensky looks at that factory, and thinks ...

A few observations, Having witnessed resume padding by others for a good many years, the term "an expert on methane", is a pretty low bar to step over. Once you understand a few physical properties and characteristics of methane, there is not much else. Perhaps that expert could add expert on Hydrogen Sulfide to their credentials. The wells in Luling have produced oil (and small amounts of natural gas) that contains sulphur compounds, including hydrogen sulfide (H2S), since they were drilled 100 years ago. That is a fact. That fact is the reason the wells have posted signs warning people there is "H2S" or "Poison Gas" present, and the reason why the all the above ground surface equipment is designed to be used in a dangerous, corrosive, hazardous environment. Apparently the recent testing confirmed that the gas wells producing methane and H2S contained extremely high concentrations of methane and H2S; “It was off the scales. Methane was off the scales and hydrogen sulfide was off the scales,” ... “The monitor would immediately start beeping when I crossed the property line.” Off site, the monitor wasn't beeping. Ok, all is good. They crossed the property line to the well producing the poisonous gas, and the monitor immediately started beeping. Ok, it looks like the monitor is working. As one would expect, the concentration increases as you get closer to the source. One would expect an expert on methane to understand that methane containing elevated levels of H2S requires elevated levels of personal protection (masks and fresh air tanks, not a respirator), especially when directly exposed to the source of the poisonous gas. At "higher" H2S levels, any exposure could be fatal, on contact. You don't need to be an expert to understand that fact. Every flange, valve, meter and piece of equipment at the well site is a possible fugitive emission source. Oil is stored in atmospheric tanks that breath, or vent, low quantities of vapor (gas) entrained in the oil. The minute quantities of leaked vapors are diluted and dissipate readily. These tanks are designed to hold a column of liquid at atmospheric pressure, not a pressure vessel for storing liquids under pressure. Those locations with elevated levels of H2S are operated and maintained by personnel that have specific training and knowledge and have been equipped accordingly. At least the reporters eventually recognized the obvious and left for their own safety. I like to know the rules so I no how far I'm stepping over them. Rules or guidelines on a Poison Gas that can be fatal on contact? Those are absolutes.

Companies that own & operate wind farms use their windmill tax subsidies ... to invest in oil & gas exploration and production... tax free.

Reminds me of that time, after baseball practice at Bergstom AFB (Pre airport), we went off chasing Jack Rabbits along Hiway 71. We got about halfway down, adjacent to the apron where they parked the planes. Out of nowhere, 2 jeeps full of GI's w/ M-16's came speeding towards us, and influenced us to get the hell out of there. For any of you near Houston, consider taking a drive to Mont Belvieu, on FM 146 (state highway?) from I-10 North about 2-3 miles. Probably the highest concentration of pipelines in the world, mostly NGL pipelines. First time i went there in 1980, I thought it looked vulnerable. Given what happened in Deer Park, they will probably end up building a wall or barrier along the highway. The industry "bought" the town a long time ago. I'm out. I might be un-retiring here for a bit.

Re: Speaking to the press. Example 1-A. Why you want to make sure the right person is speaking to the press and the public. I read a statement that clearly stated it was a "Y-Grade NGL" (Natural Gas Liquid) pipeline, and it further defined what that is. The Mayor giving the Deer Park news conference stated it was "Liquid Natural Gas" (LNG) pipeline. ABC 13 said the good news it is "Natural Gas" burning Natural Gas Liquids (NGL), Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), or Natural Gas are not the same thing...220, 221, whatever it takes. They are similar, but nowhere close to the same thing. 3 completely different products, in composition, physical properties, and in the mitigation of leaks and fires. Natural Gas is primarily methane, it can be converted to LNG, primarily for export, and is then converted back to natural gas. "Natural Gas" is used for both gas produced at the wellhead, which contains the Natural Gas Liquids, and also the finished product that has had the impurities and NGL removed. LNG is also primarily methane, which is lighter than air and will dissipate naturally. It is transported and stored at - 200 °F, < 5 PSI, is warmed and vaporized, and transported at ~ 1,000 PSI and ambient temperatures. NGL Y-grade is a mixture of hydrocarbons, including a nominal 25% propane, which is heavier, than air, and will lay on the ground until if eventually dissipates, or finds an ignition source. It is transported at ~1,000 PSI and ambient temperatures. In this case, I would believe the OIL & GAS COMPANY and not the government officials or the press, but you be you. From the video; This is a well defined utility corridor, including high power electric lines and a number of pipelines, which may include gas, oil, NGL, purity products, or specialty chemicals. In similar pipeline corridors, companies are usually granted construction easements (25-50 feet wide) and will revert to a permanent easement upon completion (some as narrow as 2 feet.) In some cases, the ROW also has a depth requirement. I wouldn't be surprised if some these original agreements are 100+ years old. Obviously in a shared ROW, the wants of a individual company must be tempered with the needs of the others. While pipeline companies needs and wants are similar, the power line owners are different, and somewhat unique. They have exposed high voltage lines and any thing that may cause an electric arc (like a steel pipe) is a primary consideration. Power lines falling on top of pipes and other structures is always a big concern. Note the power lines on the ground in the pictures and videos. In the picture below, you can see the two above ground block valves (red & white) in the fenced locations behind the fire. Interesting that the fence towards Wal-Mart appears to be intact. There is/was a set of power lines going directly over the fire location, with a power pole inside the fence. There are a lot of different facilities, fences, bollards, power poles, telephone poles within the ROW. Deer Park Pipeline Fire I am sorry there was a fatality in this accident. It is never a good thing. I've seen pictures, before and after, NGL and Natural Gas pipeline accidents. I have done repair work on an NGL pipeline leak. Even though all the pressure gauges read "0", there was still pressure inside. Run, Forest!!! Run!!! I have seen a pipeline that was severed by a construction crew and was de-pressuring at sonic velocity with the sound of a jet engine, that dropped the surrounding temperatures ~ 20-30 °F where we were standing. I have seen gas pipeline fires, some of which we started so the gas didn't explode. I have seen a pipeline test blowdown with 2,000 PSI of nitrogen behind it. I have even seen a man pleasure a camel. But, I have never seen a high pressure NGL line (~1,000+ PSI), leaking, vaporizing and burning, releasing that much pressure and energy at one time. (Insert South Austin Mom joke here.) Not unlike the fingers of God. (Go to 0:55 of the video) Looking at the video, my reaction was this does not look look like a leak from a vent valve. Not sure what was there before, but it appears there was a riser (2-4" ?) coming off the below ground mainline. Above ground, there would be line with a smaller valve that could be opened to atmosphere. From the video, there does not appear to be a pipe or a valve, just a big hole (10-20") with a tremendous amount of Natural Gas Liquids, leaking, vaporizing and igniting. (I know ET has a 20" NGL line in the general area.). My guess would be that the car hit the riser, damaged the pipe, which was sheared off by the pipeline pressure, which tossed the car, and the product ignited ( from sparks, or the catalytic converter.) Edit; in the later video's, you can see some kind of pipe or something at ground level that wasn't obvious in the earlier videos. As bad as this is, it could have been much worse. We would use Extreme Theory in our planning; What is the wort thing that can happen? What is the best thing that can happen? Where is the reality within that spectrum?

I don't know exactly what was damaged and ignited. I agree with the notion in other posts that the block valve was buried, and the blow down valves were above ground. In that event, the actuator for the block valve would be above ground, along with the blowdown valves. If the Deer park vehicle went through a fence along line property line and a fence around the valve site, that says a lot. With that said, the primary concern with protection and security is to keep people and animals away from it. Not fortified bunkers, but a chain link fence with a locked gate. (This probably also meets a minimal threshold for insurance requirements, though I've never heard that brought up in any meetings or discussions I've been involved in.) Equally important, there has to be access to operate and maintain the equipment, including access to the buried lines, if necessary. "Permanent" concrete-filled steel pipes creates obstacles for people (technician and welders) and equipment (back hoes, cherry pickers, etc.). Buried steel structures also impacts the cathodic protection of the pipelines. The chain link fence will keep 100% of the honest people out. From people, vandalism and theft is the primary concern. The fact that the equipment inside the fence keeps the hazardous material inside the pipes and away from people keeps a lot of the less than honest people out. There are a lot of Darwin candidates that accidentally or intentionally did some really stupid things around facilities. Anybody that wants to get in and damage the facility can do it, whether there is nothing at all, or a fence, bollard (never used that word, we used pig pen), wall, or a building. I am sure when this site is repaired, they will have steep pipes around it. Just like they put up deer crossing signs where there have been accidents.

Location of Ammo Depot Targets: Toropets Ammo Depot, Targeted 9/18/24 Tonight Ukrainian OWA-UAV's successfully struck and have severely damaged the Toropets Northeast Ammunition Depot which has seen significant expansion since the declassified June 1965 report by the National Photographic Interpretation Center now known as the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. The data right now indicates that there is significant damage to the newer expansions of the depot, primarily among the reinforced ammunition bunkers on the eastern side of the facility along with several of the original 150' x 40' storage buildings and among the barracks and administrative buildings by the depot entrance on the Northern side of the depot/ Today this former Soviet Era Munitions Depot is operated by the 107th GRAU Arsenal which expanded with the depot with an addition of 42 reinforced bunkers and 23 non reinforced storage and maintenance buildings (gravel apron) likely housing several tens of thousands of tons of munitions such as Air Defense Missiles and Surface to Surface Missiles Dawn has arrived and the entire facility is ablaze. Russian Ministry of Defense stated in 2022 that "The arsenal allows us to protect stockpiles of missiles and ammunition from external influences and ensure their safety and explosion and fire safety. The full load of each arsenal storage facility is up to 240 tons." With around 92 such buildings across the old and new portions of the depot that's 22,080 tons of munitions fully stocked and excluding the maintenance facilities. Toropets Ammo Depot - CIA brief, 2001 (the area with the trees) Pochep, Bryansk Ammo Depot, Targeted 9/18/24, (I think this is the target in the video during daylight) More Ukraine drone possibilities:

Yes; Houston, Texas, where industrial accidents are measured on the Richter Scale.

I was a midstream guy before midstream was a thing and have provided expert witness analysis and testimony on Midstream contracts and damages for 20+ years. They usually involve correlating a relatively simple business concept to a very complicated operational issue, that was memorialized in a few words in a contract that can be interpreted different ways. Regardless of the words, there are always overwhelming numbers of numbers involved, and "the trend is your friend." I've always enjoyed the perverse entertainment value of depositions, getting down to the nuts and bolts of a complex issue, usually with reams of data and numbers, that ends up with confused attorney's chasing their tails and saying, "Don't ask him that!". More often than not, the opposing expert witness is a finance person or an accountant, and that's never a fair fight.

The odds of a pipeline rupturing are probably higher than an SUV driving in a field and hitting a block valve station hard enough to rupture a steel pipe. Schematically, the block valve is similar to every single residential gas meter in the country, though I'm not sure if the Deer park station had a meter or if it was just a valve. A residential distribution behind a city gate is a lower pressure line than a transmission line, but they are still similar in nature. They are much more exposed to vehicular traffic; should we put pig-pens around all those valves also? Pretty much every Green Belt in a master planned community in Texas is a hydrocarbon pipeline corridor. The Phillips NGL pipeline from West Texas to South Houston crosses immediately north of the Chase Bank and the Slaughter & Mopac intersection. It crosses a lot of metro infrastructure along the way. That pipeline was 15 miles south of town. Now its not. Operational security risk? don't think I've ever heard of a car running into a pipeline in a field. Whatever pipeline modifications were made in consideration of development, they are as agreed upon between the parties. Most landowners, both farmers and developers, want to minimize above ground infrastructure. Most times a chain link fence will suffice; it keeps the honest people out. Re Subsidy? FIFY Most large companies are self insured. The premiums to cover the act of one person making a bad decision that incurs a $40 billion judgement is prohibitive. Way, way wrong. There is constant, and real time communication between upstream and midstream, as the coordination of production volumes to current operating capacity is paramount. Exploration & Production (Upstream) and Refining & Petrochemicals (Downstream) do not work without Midstream in the middle. The lines between each are not absolutes, but determined on a case by case basis. Surly gonna Surly. There is usually a barrier of sorts around every above ground facility. Not necessarily SUV proof. Surprised? In almost all the training video's I saw many years ago, they found the camera's. Sometimes they found the photographers body. I agree, that's some aggy level shit. Always PTINS, never anything else. As Denton Cooley said, "I have no peers." We hired the best and the brightest (lot of math). We built to DOT guidelines. We followed to ASME codes. In some cases, we developed our own construction standards, in excess of government and engineering standards. We solicited and adhered to best practices. We did not need any non-industry, non-professional people advising us how to do our jobs, safely. To boil that down to "... there is effectively zero standard for safety" is insulting to everybody I met and worked with for 40 years. Safety is not simply words on paper, it is a learned behavior that is practiced every day and reinforced at every opportunity. The Highway Department used to put "Deer Crossing" signs where there had been a deer-vehicle occurrence. Why don't they just put them couple of hundred feet on every road in Texas, so the deer know they can't cross the road? Ok. Deer Park has had an incident where a car drove through a field and hit a pipeline facility. I don't doubt that some companies are asking the same question as you. At the same time, there are hundreds of block valve sites all over the place in cultivated fields, with trucks and tractors and combines and all kinds of farm equipment in close proximity all the time. You can't prevent people from doing stupid things. You can identify and analyze every eventuality, but it is not practical to protect for every thing that might happen. Airplanes would be too heavy to fly and cars too expensive to buy. I don't recall ever hearing about an SUV hitting a pipeline facility in a field. But, I did read about an airplane hitting a house and a whale jumping on a boat. Perhaps we should start building protective covers for boats and houses.

Y-Grade is the mixture of Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) that are removed in a Gas Processing Plant. The processing plants are located proximate to the wells producing the gas (West Texas for example), and the recovered NGL are transported via pipelines to the fractionation plants (FRACTIONal + distillATION = FRACTIONATION) where the the multi-component Y-Grade stream is separated into the 5 "purity products" (these are some of the tall towers you see in petrochemical complexes). Mont Belvieu, TX, north of Baytown, is the largest concentration of NGL fractionation plants and underground storage of NGL's in the world, with a small cartel of midstream companies with fractionation plants that include hundreds of underground storage caverns. The underground caverns are created by "solution mining" tear-drop shaped caverns (cavities) out of huge underground "salt plugs". A cavern a nominal, 2,000 foot deep, 1,000 feet tall, 100-200 ft in diameter cavity holding ~ 1,000,000 barrels, or 50,000,000 gallons of product. Envision downtown Houston, turned upside down so the tall buildings extend into the ground, and now fill all those deep depressions full of flammable hydrocarbons. Hundreds of gas processing plants transport NGL from across the country through multiple pipelines to the various fractionation facilities along the Gulf Coast from Corpus Christi to Mississippi, where hundreds of more pipelines connect to the various refineries and petrochemical plants along the coast. Each pipeline will a series of block valves along the route, with the number and locations of valves dependent on a number of factors. Whether the pipelines are privately owned or common carrier pipelines, they are all governed by government and industry standards that allow them function properly every day, without any discernible impact to the general public. "Nothing is fool proof, because fools are so ingenious." Apparently a motor vehicle hit one of those above ground block valve locations near Deer Park. Yes, once the pipeline is breached, all you can do is isolate the section with the breach. If the product in normally a vapor at room temperature and pressure, it will vent until all the high pressure liquids have vaporized and dissipated naturally, or it finds an ignition source. If the product is normally a liquid at room temperature and pressure, it will leak until the leak is repaired or until all the leak stops flowing. It will take a long time for a Y-grade NGL pipeline to completely vaporize, as the heavier fractions have similar characteristics to gasoline and vaporize slowly. Once the area is evacuated, letting the pipeline burn out is the safest option, because it won't explode. Fuck the EPA. Natural Gas Liquids are the last place you want a EPA bureaucrat involved. NGL industry pipelines operate under the umbrella of the Department of Transportation and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Whether the pipelines are privately owned or common carrier pipelines, they are built and operated to government standards and Industry guidelines, including the Gas Processors Association. The GPA is an industry led group that has been a forum for sharing best practices for over 100 years ... Enhancing the viability of natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil Shaping the U.S. midstream energy sector since 1921, GPA Midstream sets standards for natural gas liquids; develops simple and reproducible test methods to define the industry’s raw materials and products; manages a worldwide cooperative research program; provides a voice for our industry on Capitol Hill; and is the go-to resource for technical reports and publications. The annual GPA Midstream Convention is the premiere meeting place for midstream professionals from around the globe. Please, don't ever confuse a real Midstream company with a refinery or chemical plant, or an exploration and production company, or for god's sake, a utility. Every day, trained and experienced personnel take the most volatile hydrocarbon products known to man, boost it to a pressure high enough that a leak would cut you half, and for good measure, put it in large steel tanks, and add heat. They work alongside 25,000 HP gas turbines every day, that have jet engines on one side of a shaft connected to a compressor that boosts 250,000,000 FT3 of gas per day to pressures exceeding 1,000 pounds per square inch. Everything is mechanical, and eventually, if not maintained properly, it will break. Our job is never so important that we cannot take the time to do it safely. If I don't have the time to do it right the first time, when will I have the time to fix it. We're a technical company, so technical people are going to run it. Sorry guys, this for the adults for which math makes your heart go pitter-patter. The valve stations and other above facilities are usually protected by chain link fences, to keep people out, or steel pipes filled with concrete, to keep bigger things out. A barrier built to protect from a tractor with a blade may not stop a bull dozer, or an SUV. Odds are the pipeline and other facilities were built well before the Wal-Mart. There is ample evidence that ignorant (lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing) people will make statements of fact without knowing the facts. I would expect the company shared the pertinent information with law enforcement, fire departments, etc. Those governmental entities would have the responsibilities to share information with those directly impacted by the incident, and with the general public as deemed appropriate. There is nothing that is beneficial with sharing unconfirmed information or theories with reporters and PI attorneys. Go look at the "Green Belt" in your neighborhood. Odds are it is a pipeline right of way, laser straight with well defined inflection points. And those neighbors paid a premium to live next to it! The pipelines have beneficial use of the right of ways on the land they traverse, by virtue of legal documents agreed to by the landowner and the operating company. Maintenance of the right of way, and everything on it, is the responsibility of the operating company. The operating companies have no rights or responsibilities for anything outside of the right of way. Most of the pipelines and related facilities were built away from population centers many years ago. They were built to the standards at the time construction, including limitations on the maximum allowable operating pressures relative to the population density at that time. As the cities have expanded, they have encroached on that pre-existing infrastructure. Relocating and rerouting pipelines happens occasionally, but that is not the norm. A cultivated field that had corn or wheat for 50 years is now a subdivision with streets and roads and houses and driveways and swimming pools and water lines and power lines. Whether you agree or not, in my example, the financial burden to remedy the situation lies with the developer and the government entity that approved the encroachment. Whether you agree or not, there are practical limits as to what could and should be done, on a case by case basis, including relocating the pipeline. There were over 40,000 auto related fatalities in 2023. Every entity in government and civil society with a means to change that has accepted that fatalities are unavoidable, and acceptable. We could not afford to drive cars, or fly airplanes, that are 100% "safe." You want safe and protective measures? What is the probability that a titanium blade on a steam turbine spinning at 4,000 rpm could break off, penetrate the turbine shell, penetrate the turbine building, fly 1,000's of feet, and penetrate a 4 1/2 foot thick reinforced-concrete secondary containment building (build with a lattice of ~ 15 layers of 2' steel rebar), penetrate a 2 foot thick reinforced-concrete primary containment building, and penetrate a 14" thick steel nuclear reactor vessel? I don't know either, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission thought is was high enough that the orientation of the turbines should be turned 90 degrees relative to the nuclear reactor. I guess they were right because it's never happened.

That chicken shit time out before halftime pissed me off. Texas was content to not call a time out and let the half end, and UTSA calls time out with 2 seconds left. Texas is in a deep drop prevent defense on 3rd & 14?, UTSA runs the ball for a decent gain just to pad their stats. I thought, lets hang 50 or 60 on those fuckers.

That's some funny shit!!!

And just like Jordan, Mbatchou won’t have to beat Olajuwon to win a title. FIFY.

Akeem Olajuwon was a soccer goalie and didn't start playing basketball til he was 15. He was the definition of raw when he came to Houston. Athletic skills translate. The rest can be taught.

This. 6 months after my Quinn-tuple bypass, he told me I was lucky to be alive, couldn't believe I could even walk. My heart grew more arteries. If you're 50ish?, make an appointment. For me: Dr. Francisco Javier Otero, MD, Cardiovascular Disease, Interventional Cardiology, Saint Davids Medical Center, Austin.

Chase Daniel does a really good job breaking down film on Arch.

Yes, it's still there. And no, nothings better. Ninfa's is the first place I ate green sauce for chip's, Taco's Al Carbon, Shrimp Mariscos, or Queso Flameado, and I'm an old MF. The Ninfarita ushered in a new era of Margarita's, back in the day when everyone had a drank for lunch. I moved to Houston in 1980 and my mother and Aunt came to visit from Austin. Ninfa's blew them away. Nuff said, for me. I'm one of the guys that goes to Ninfa's and gets the same thing every time, especially now that I'm back in Austin. I drove to the Sugar Bowl for the express purpose of eating at Ninfa's on Navigation, and some cajun food in Lafayette. After eating this at 11 in the morning, I couldn't think about food til I got to New Orleans.

If you are here, there is not a better feeling in the world then going through life with Texas ranked #1 in College Football. Imagine going through your life, day after day, some good, some bad. Around dusk, when the skies darken and the air cools, you look towards that place of happier days gone by, and what do you see; If that doesn't make you feel better, sorry, can't do anything for you, get the fuck outta here! TLDR... FIFY. (See below you PWBC's) Oh, how I wish that was true. So many panty waist, beta 'cucks on here it is embarrassing. That includes all you "Seven win Steve!" Motherfuckers!!! A bit of my personal history, give me some rope here. Born in Austin, at Bergstrom AFB, 8th generation Texan (parents from Pflugerville & Bastrop), 1st generation college graduate, UT-Austin. My older siblings were born in Illinois. First FB game I saw on TV was the '65 Orange Bowl, #5 Texas v. #1 Alabama. We lived at Eglin AFB in the Florida Panhandle, surrounded by Alabama fans. I remember my mother telling me I was special, "... because you were born in Texas". Don't remember if it was just once, or all the time; it didn't matter, I ALWAYS remember that. We moved back to Texas in 1966, saw the Batman World Premier at the Paramount, saw Charles Whitman forever change the world. ,. The Austin Aqua Festival, with the Thunderbirds (The planes, not the band), drag boat racing on Town Lake (6 second 1.4 mile), motor cycle racing on the city streets, was the premier entertainment festival in the world. Austin was a magical place to live in, and I went though my early teens without ever see Texas lose a football game, in the midst of their 30 game winning streak, all while ranked #1 ("Who's Ohio State?"). Fast forward to 1974, Earl and I are freshmen, OU has a their own 28 game winning streak, winning 2 National Championships in '74 & '75, and beating Texas 5 times in a row, tying 6-6 in 1976 (We had the seats next to 36, 000 Okies, tight on the 5O yard line). DKR retires, Fred scraps the wishbone and puts Earl in the "i". Boom!!! Texas climbs in the polls to #5, beats #2 Oklahoma 13-6 on Earls TD scamper right before halftime*, beats #8 Arkansas (Earl becomes the Heisman favorite), and when Michigan loses, Texas vaults to the #1 ranking. Austin is electric, and over a few weeks, UT blacks out the Tower windows to form the #1, which graces the skyline each Saturday win. They also lit the Tower for Earl winning the Heisman Trophy, for Texas Professor Ilya Prigogine winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, when UT acquired the Gutenberg Bible, and when UT acquired their 4,000,000th book. IIRC, the Tower was bathed in Orange, with the iconic #1, continuously from Thanksgiving til the Cotton Bowl. Having Texas ranked #1 for over 2 months gives one a special feeling. Reading and hearing #1 Texas every time they mention college football can't help but make you good, and proud. I think today, with social media, with the internet, with the elevated importance of recruiting, Texas having the #1 ranking is nothing but a good thing. It's not like we aren't a big target already. The full might of the Texas media machine will be unleashed. Every football media show will start with talk about Texas. Every football recruit will thank about Texas. Being the best, and wearing that label of being the best, proudly, every day, because you earned it, feels pretty damn special. Try it on and see how it fits.

I also have not read a lot about this, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn a few times… I would question what maintenance Russia has done in the last 20-40 years, and what exactly they are maintaining. What maintenance has been done? Ballistic missiles have either solid fuel boosters or liquid fuel boosters; the space shuttle used both. Short range missiles (300-1,000 km?) need less fuel, which favors a solid fuel booster. Once ignited, they burn full throttle until they burn out. I imagine the solid fuel is relatively stable, but I also would think it has a finite shelf life. Have Russian nukes had their solid fuels replaced in the last 20-40 years? Do they still make the fuels and rockets? I’d take the under, not the over. One advantage of the solid fuel missiles is they are ready to launch on short notice. Long range missiles (1,000+ km) require multiple stages, with disposal of the stages as they burn out. Much more complicated with exponentially more things that can go wrong and not work properly. The liquid fuel rockets have separate fuel and oxidizer tanks, that are mixed during flight, with control over the combustion rates. I recall that fueling the rockets is extremely hazardous (No Smoking!), extremely flammable fuel, as any leaks are immediately exposed to oxygen, and ... big badda boom. Same questions exist on the shelf life of the fuel? Is this what was in the tanks at Proletarsk? IMO, the longer range liquid fuel missiles would be less reliable than the shorter range solid fuel missiles, but they have more control, I think. No idea of the fuel compositions, characteristics, manufacturing processed, storage temperatures and pressures, etc., but It's one of the most volatile compounds known and I would not want to be anywhere near it. Is this what was in the tanks at Proletarsk, where so many firefighters were injured? As loading the fuel is something that happens right before launch, it requires that skilled engineers and /or technicians (rocket scientists) are at the ready to do their deeds when called upon. Are these skilled people still in Russia, or did they leave for something else? Jared Cohen : So, you're a rocket scientist. Peter Sullivan : I was, yeah. Jared Cohen : Interesting. How did you end up here? Peter Sullivan : Well, it's all just numbers really. Just changing what you're adding up. And, to speak freely, the money here is considerably more attractive. If they stayed in Russia, they were probably KIA in Kharkiv or Kherson a year ago, like a lot of the other skilled professionals. Is Putin or his lackeys going to send some fat, drunk & stupid conscript with 2 weeks of training to do it? Good luck with that. What are they maintaining? Some of these system predate widespread GPS systems. Did Russia go back and upgrade the guidance systems, electronics, etc.? Even then, in 2024, Russia has demonstrated on a continuous basis that they cannot hit the broad side of a barn door a barn, or a specific target. Morton Thiokol knew the limitations of their solid fuel rockets and still couldn't convince NASA to wait. Any chance the Russia equivalent of Thiokol even exists, or knows those limitations, and what chance would they have in telling Putin to wait? With that said, regardless of condition of so many weapons, statistically, a few would find their targets, or something worse. The boss is always the boss, and a guy with nukes is always a guy with nukes.

Thanks for the summary. I was wondering why we saw an actual injury report. It’s hard to fathom that in 2024 they still believe that if they can hide information and blur the truth and intentionally mislead their minions and believe all is well, knowing they have an actual football game with a live audience and camera’s, and the ugly truth will be revealed, and that is okay. “We're better off just telling the truth.“ Well, until last year, every-fucking-body told us to stay away from red meat, cheese, shellfish and other foods with cholesterol, because eating them would raise our cholesterol. My doctor told me a few months ago I’m better off eating a steak and salad every day and to quit eating bread and flour tortilla’s later in the day, when my activity levels drop. Yeah, aggy gonna aggy. Let’s fatten ‘em and we can practice getting faster.

Thanks!!! That ship sailed, but I know where the dock is. This was a fun trip. Great game. Perfect weather, 40’s in September. I Everywhere I went, people walked up and engaged in conversation. Kinda. Some flashed a Horns down, I suggested they weren’t doing it correctly, and we started talking. Detroit was fun, rightfully proud of its past, with a rich sports history, gambling, and legal weed. Henry Ford was a great man, and a great benefactor. Brought housing and education to the masses. Gave the schools tickets to the symphony, and the arts. Education + Church choir + the musical arts = Motown, the Motor City Madman (I saw Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes at the Armadillo), We Want Grand Funk! ( Sam Houston Coliseum, I think).