Will American soon be without their gas stoves?

| January 11, 2023

According to a NYPost article, millions of Americans may soon be entering “not stove season.” The Biden administration is considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves — citing the harmful pollutants released by the appliances, according to a report. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is mulling the action after recent studies showed emissions from the […]

Energy Independence: Oil was once dictated by OPEC #TBT

| November 4, 2021

Not to many years ago, the United States was on its way to becoming energy independent … until the American fossil fuel industry came under attack from within our own country. This time the reason is not due to our country’s inability to produce enough oil and natural gas for our needs, but an ideology […]

After cleaning, tossing junk and the re-organizing a couple walls, the pool house garage is still way too cluttered

| October 3, 2020

As much as I love working in an organized space, for the life of me I have trouble keeping it that way. Also,  I can’t get rid of things I use, might use or that are too good to sell or toss. The truth is that I have the packrat gene.  My parents were not […]

Do you recycle or think about your environmental footprint?

| July 24, 2019

As a conservation minded “conservative” and as someone who has always balanced the cost vs benefits of decisions, I once thought “recycling” was as simple as “not littering” and cleaning up pollution highlighted by the 1971 ad campaign (Iron Eyes Cody photo above). From an early age we were bombarded by pointing out how careless […]

Two New Trane Furnaces installed on a COOL winter day

| December 28, 2016

With the intent to capture the end of the year 2016 tax credit and take advantage of a slow work week, I scheduled the replacement of our 21 year old Bryant HVAC equipment. The installers from Logan-Inc worked one full day to replace our two furnaces with higher efficiency Trane models (XR95 + S9V2) and […]

Roses are red, natural gas pipes are grey

| September 26, 2016

Really just an excuse to post a beginning of autumn photo of roses from the flower beds … but for semi-straggly looking Knockout Roses, they add a bit of color to the greenery around our house. Actually I was painting the natural gas pipes on both the house and poolhouse as they were starting to […]

Bureaucratic pet peeve – selecting Ohio utility energy providers

| September 30, 2014

Residents and businesses in Ohio “choose” which companies provide the energy used by their utility company, which can in most cases reduce their bills. This competition should be a good thing, one would think, but each year consumers go through a multi-step process to confirm our energy provider choice … and each year it is […]

Westport $WPRT poised for growth when energy prices rise

| September 24, 2014

With the lower cost of domestic natural gas here in North America, the next couple of decades will continue opening the doors of opportunity for innovative  companies who finding better ways to utilize this domestic and abundant clean fuel. Westport Technologies (WPRT), a leader in advanced natural gas engines and vehicles, has fallen flat as […]

CNBC talks boom growth with North Dakota Sen Heidi Heidcamp

| September 15, 2014

Since visiting my son Taylor a couple times in northwestern (Williston) North Dakota, I pay closer attention to what is happening in his area and the boom growth as well as the politics around moving energy. Unless someone sees the train tanker cars lined up or drive on the roads which are packed with truck […]

Trick question: Coal or Natural Gas, which is a cleaner energy?

| June 17, 2014

While listening to CNBC’s Squawkbox yesterday morning, Southern Company’s CEO Thomas Fanning sees exporting U.S. energy as economically a best path forward. The strategy is not without debate and hits opposition from both sides – the anti-fossil fuel greens and conservatives wanting to preserve our nation’s natural resources for America’s future. That argument aside, one […]

Is Westport Innovation’s stock finally turning up? $WPRT

| June 16, 2014

While keeping tabs on a hedge fund analyst and his comments over at Seeking Alpha, I read a little bit on $WPRT and the recent management change and where they still in relation to their “natural gas vehicle/truck conversion” peers. Having watched my shares lose value this past year, I’ve been wondering why Westport hasn’t […]

Praise for Duke Energy’s use of information technology

| April 29, 2014

Rarely do we talk about near monopolies, government agencies or utility companies in a positive way when it comes to servicing their captive market or hostage customer … where else can we go? We shouldn’t be surprised since where there is little competition, there isn’t the same motivation to excel with customer service as when […]

ExxonMobil see growth, but big changes the energy picture

| March 12, 2013

Seven years ago, it was challenging to find automotive diesel at a car friendly "gas" station here in the U.S., but according to ExxonMobil research, in the next seven years we’ll see diesel use surpass gasoline as the petroleum fuel of choice. (The Outlook For Energy: A View To 2040 – PDF) The efficiency of […]

Diesel fuel prices: Cracking, Fracking and Biodiesel Brewing

| December 8, 2012

My kids roll their eyes when I strike up offhanded conversations with strangers in parking lots, gas stations, etc. Take Friday for instance, I saw a guy get out of his new Passat TDI and glanced over to ask how he liked his new diesel. He grinned and exclaimed, “I’m getting 47 mpg!” which I […]

Converting to natural gas – what’s taking so long?

| August 22, 2012

Since our nation’s oil and gas industry has expanded its capacity to produce natural gas in recent years, it only makes sense that we take advantage of this plentiful, clean, and low cost energy resource. It sure sounds like a sensible way to keep the United States an economically competitive place to build and expand […]

Has natural gas hit a bottom. If so, how to invest?

| February 15, 2012

Besides trading in an out of the depressed Natural Gas market in the past month, I’ve been pondering how to “eventually” capitalize on what I see as a bottom in the commodity price for NG and a possible upside down the road. How far down the road, who knows?   I’ve been doing some reading […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
My Desultory Blog