Scattered through out our yard are these Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. You can get them at Loews or Home Depot for four or five dollars apiece. They have a single LED and rechargeable battery with a photo voltaic cell on the top. So they recharge during the day and the battery does a fair job of keeping it lit though the night time. It has a light sensor to detect when it is dark or lite to turn it on and off.
Well while stepping out on my daily walk I noted that one of the lamps was chock full of dirt. That ain't normal, I mean the thing is sticking up in the air 10 or so inches. Dirt don't climb by itself.
So a closer look determined a colony of ants had converted our lamp into a high rise apartment complex. Shades of modernization!
The ground was pretty wet from the recent rain so I just pulled it up the entire assembly and set it next to the curb, top down with top off of it. I figured the cold would drive out the ants and I could clean it up and put it back to normal use again.
I retrieved it a couple of days later and brought it inside and washed a ton of dirt out of it. Took about 1o minutes to get the majority of the detritus out of the lamp, And there were a few tough ants still inside of the assembly. I squashed a bunch of them and washed them down the sink. A couple ants managed to get on me but I detected them and squashed them too.
I left the top out side to charge up so will retrieve it and put it back together with the remainder of the assembly. Must think through just where to place the lamp to avoid another high rise. There is one lamp on the other side of the flower bed about four feet away but it as yet has not been converted by the ants.
I can just see it now. Some little real estate ant is pushing high rises for the colonies. Had one going too. But this old human put a stop to that. I will sprinklie a little ant poison out there too. I'll stop the whole development in its tracks. I wonder if the EEO people will get after me for doing this.
You just never know who moves into your neighborhood these days.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
"Connections . . ."
Recently I have had a number of emails to and from Randy DeCuir. Randy is from Marksville but is familiar with New Roads and Pointe Coupee. He shares my mother's penchant for genealogy.
We also have a commom friend, Glen Morgan. Glen and I go back to literally grade school. His home and current home was a couple of house over from mine. And we share the common river. His uncle Louis lived a house over the other way.
Growing up in a little town meant we knew each other and played with each other. We were boys and enjoyed boy things. I recall Glen had an awesome set of Lionel train stuff, mostly track and such. Later he had pup tent. And his father like his uncle had a power boat, boat house and pier. Did a ton of fishing off Glen's dad's pier. And I caught my first fish, a big old Catfish, off Louis' pier.
We swam in the river and later learned to water ski. We were literally river rats for a while. Not so sure Glen was as wild as I was.
New Roads was like a big family. I ranged from one end of town to the other on my bicycle. I once peddled the entire length of town hands free. Friends were friends regardless of where they lived. Some of those friends continue on today.
It was distressing to learn that Glen needs oxygen to breath. He his trapped in his home by the needs of his body. Good to hear people like Randy DeCuir pays him visits.
New Roads is not the same. Times have changed. Still a small town, more progressive and some things have changed. But old St. Josephs Academy operated by the Sisters of St Joseph has morphed into Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee. The grade school is Catholic Elementary. CHPC attracts students from across Pointe Coupee and into West Baton Rouge and Iberville Parishes.
False River Academy, a non-sectarian private school, has a similar attraction for attendance. Both schools boast staffs that had at one time been in the public school system. Both schools have enviable academic credentials.
The sad irony is that there is no public high school in New Roads city limits. Pointe Coupee Central High School is located more or less halfway between New Roads and Morganza. It sits literally in the midst of sugar cane fields, part of old Brunswich Plantation.
Poydras High School, the one of the two public high schools once found in New Roads, has been turned into a museum, business office and public auditorium. It has become an attraction for New Roads. Rosenwald High School, the other high school, is today a grade school inside the city of New Roads.
There is always a strong attraction to New Roads. There is False River, slow southern living, closeness to Baton Rouge. Lots of things. With the new Audubon Bridge I expect it to explode with discovery.
Mean while I will keep up my connections.
We also have a commom friend, Glen Morgan. Glen and I go back to literally grade school. His home and current home was a couple of house over from mine. And we share the common river. His uncle Louis lived a house over the other way.
Growing up in a little town meant we knew each other and played with each other. We were boys and enjoyed boy things. I recall Glen had an awesome set of Lionel train stuff, mostly track and such. Later he had pup tent. And his father like his uncle had a power boat, boat house and pier. Did a ton of fishing off Glen's dad's pier. And I caught my first fish, a big old Catfish, off Louis' pier.
We swam in the river and later learned to water ski. We were literally river rats for a while. Not so sure Glen was as wild as I was.
New Roads was like a big family. I ranged from one end of town to the other on my bicycle. I once peddled the entire length of town hands free. Friends were friends regardless of where they lived. Some of those friends continue on today.
It was distressing to learn that Glen needs oxygen to breath. He his trapped in his home by the needs of his body. Good to hear people like Randy DeCuir pays him visits.
New Roads is not the same. Times have changed. Still a small town, more progressive and some things have changed. But old St. Josephs Academy operated by the Sisters of St Joseph has morphed into Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee. The grade school is Catholic Elementary. CHPC attracts students from across Pointe Coupee and into West Baton Rouge and Iberville Parishes.
False River Academy, a non-sectarian private school, has a similar attraction for attendance. Both schools boast staffs that had at one time been in the public school system. Both schools have enviable academic credentials.
The sad irony is that there is no public high school in New Roads city limits. Pointe Coupee Central High School is located more or less halfway between New Roads and Morganza. It sits literally in the midst of sugar cane fields, part of old Brunswich Plantation.
Poydras High School, the one of the two public high schools once found in New Roads, has been turned into a museum, business office and public auditorium. It has become an attraction for New Roads. Rosenwald High School, the other high school, is today a grade school inside the city of New Roads.
There is always a strong attraction to New Roads. There is False River, slow southern living, closeness to Baton Rouge. Lots of things. With the new Audubon Bridge I expect it to explode with discovery.
Mean while I will keep up my connections.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
"What Was He Thinking . . ."
What was Les Miles thinking and doing for preparation for the BCS Bowl? Looking at his own resume', perhaps he should. Because after stinking up the Superdome, it may be time for him to go. He may need to dust it off to use in presuing a new job somewhere or other. I mean that seems to be all he has, a resume'.
Jordan Jefferson looked like a high school kid, fumbling, missing center passes, throwing the ball to the opposing teams players. Why didn't Miles change quarterbacks? He had one just as good standing around waiting to be called. Again Miles failed to use his resources.
Miles, for whatever reason, could not get off his game plan. That's the same problem Charlie Mac had. He gets, "Heads up and locked." That means he is not being observant, not coaching and using all his resources to fend off the opposition. Stood there like a post, what an idiot. At least he could have shown some emotion, some leadership, some skill but he did not even have a blade of grass to eat.
The defense was good but even they break down after doing nothing but playing defense. The offense, well what offense? I guess that is better not said at all.
Very embarrassing and disappointing. Not the loss, the showing. I'm saying he did not prepare his team. He relied to long on a quarterback that was not producing. He relied on a offense coordinator that had no imagination or skill in pulling out good plays to use. They looked like a bunch of yoyos that did not belong in the same game as the Bama team.
Enough said.
Jordan Jefferson looked like a high school kid, fumbling, missing center passes, throwing the ball to the opposing teams players. Why didn't Miles change quarterbacks? He had one just as good standing around waiting to be called. Again Miles failed to use his resources.
Miles, for whatever reason, could not get off his game plan. That's the same problem Charlie Mac had. He gets, "Heads up and locked." That means he is not being observant, not coaching and using all his resources to fend off the opposition. Stood there like a post, what an idiot. At least he could have shown some emotion, some leadership, some skill but he did not even have a blade of grass to eat.
The defense was good but even they break down after doing nothing but playing defense. The offense, well what offense? I guess that is better not said at all.
Very embarrassing and disappointing. Not the loss, the showing. I'm saying he did not prepare his team. He relied to long on a quarterback that was not producing. He relied on a offense coordinator that had no imagination or skill in pulling out good plays to use. They looked like a bunch of yoyos that did not belong in the same game as the Bama team.
Enough said.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
A New Year . . .
We have turned the corner into 2012. One of the first things I did was to close my local bank account. They changed the rules, their excuse was the Federal Reserve changed its rules - which really means they can change their rules to fit the Feds rules.
Then they stopped paying interest on the checking account. Yeah, it was not much but it was at 5 or 6 bucks interest per year. And they changed their requirements of a basic $10,000 total deposits (CDs, savings and checking summed together) to a requirement of $25,000. Now I am sure they changed because the Fed allows them to do so, but they did not have to change, they just got more greedy. If you did not have the basic $25,000 they started charging for bank statements ($7,50 a month to tell you how much money you had, your balances, that they were using (now using free of charge)) plus other nit picking charges that mount up to maybe $60 or $75 per year. That is a big change from a piddling little amount of interest to a whopping big fees schedule and all of it with a big smile on their faces like they are doing you a favor.
The credit union was a deposit $25 to be a member. They pay interest on all accounts including checking. Albeit, it is not much but it is something on checking. And they pay more interest on savings accounts albeit it is compounded quarterly instead of monthly (it ought to be daily in both institutions but . . .). And the rates are compatible though slightly different. But the bottom line is that checks are free (they cost $7.50 at the bank for a basic issue, probably about 200 or so checks). So one starts earning more money at the credit union immediately and stop leaking money on fees at the bank.
And the checks are free at the credit union too if you have more that a $1,000 on deposit in the institution. That limit may be a few dollars more, maybe $1,500. They also give a free debit card (I do not need one or use one), a free credit card if you want one. All those benefits accrue based on levels of deposit. We meet all those levels.
The banks are not interested in the little guy. I am not an "Occupy Wall Street" person but I am frugal. And it does not pay to pay for services when you can get free or a reasonable cost. We have joint account with USAA Federal Savings Bank and they continue to pay interest on the checking account, have Gold Master Card with them and I can use any ATM for free. ATM fees are refunded, of course that is not unlimited but it works in an emergency. It just goes to prove the banks do not need to raise their fees, they are just greedy.
USAA does some things quite well. One is auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance and banking. Stay away from their investment business. Their mutual funds suck - poorly managed. They unilaterally dumped me out of a Variable Annuity -just got out of the business and pushed me off to some fly by night insurance company. I ended up using Fidelity - yes, they sell annuities too. And I can use Fidelity Mutual Funds that I am familiar with and invest in my brokerage account to flush out the variable annuity.
So I have lost confidence in much of USAA's businesses. I no longer communicate with them via the Internet for inexplicable unusal security requirements. Basically, they were going to assess my security to see if it met their requirements. I question their security and their security management - it was very intrusive. So we agreed to disagree and I do all business with them via the USPS or the telephone.
And the beat goes on . . .
Then they stopped paying interest on the checking account. Yeah, it was not much but it was at 5 or 6 bucks interest per year. And they changed their requirements of a basic $10,000 total deposits (CDs, savings and checking summed together) to a requirement of $25,000. Now I am sure they changed because the Fed allows them to do so, but they did not have to change, they just got more greedy. If you did not have the basic $25,000 they started charging for bank statements ($7,50 a month to tell you how much money you had, your balances, that they were using (now using free of charge)) plus other nit picking charges that mount up to maybe $60 or $75 per year. That is a big change from a piddling little amount of interest to a whopping big fees schedule and all of it with a big smile on their faces like they are doing you a favor.
The credit union was a deposit $25 to be a member. They pay interest on all accounts including checking. Albeit, it is not much but it is something on checking. And they pay more interest on savings accounts albeit it is compounded quarterly instead of monthly (it ought to be daily in both institutions but . . .). And the rates are compatible though slightly different. But the bottom line is that checks are free (they cost $7.50 at the bank for a basic issue, probably about 200 or so checks). So one starts earning more money at the credit union immediately and stop leaking money on fees at the bank.
And the checks are free at the credit union too if you have more that a $1,000 on deposit in the institution. That limit may be a few dollars more, maybe $1,500. They also give a free debit card (I do not need one or use one), a free credit card if you want one. All those benefits accrue based on levels of deposit. We meet all those levels.
The banks are not interested in the little guy. I am not an "Occupy Wall Street" person but I am frugal. And it does not pay to pay for services when you can get free or a reasonable cost. We have joint account with USAA Federal Savings Bank and they continue to pay interest on the checking account, have Gold Master Card with them and I can use any ATM for free. ATM fees are refunded, of course that is not unlimited but it works in an emergency. It just goes to prove the banks do not need to raise their fees, they are just greedy.
USAA does some things quite well. One is auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance and banking. Stay away from their investment business. Their mutual funds suck - poorly managed. They unilaterally dumped me out of a Variable Annuity -just got out of the business and pushed me off to some fly by night insurance company. I ended up using Fidelity - yes, they sell annuities too. And I can use Fidelity Mutual Funds that I am familiar with and invest in my brokerage account to flush out the variable annuity.
So I have lost confidence in much of USAA's businesses. I no longer communicate with them via the Internet for inexplicable unusal security requirements. Basically, they were going to assess my security to see if it met their requirements. I question their security and their security management - it was very intrusive. So we agreed to disagree and I do all business with them via the USPS or the telephone.
And the beat goes on . . .
Sunday, January 1, 2012
"I'm getting a Rise Out Of . . ."
It seems Mr Ovid LaCour Miller thinks I am putting out rumors. Perhaps Mr. Miller should check Louisiana Department of Natural Resources SONRIS Lite. If he disagrees with the numbers posted he should take action to correct same. Or he should take action to get Anadarko to report correctly.
SONRIS update dated 11/18/2011 shows the following numbers: "3000 BOFD, 2500 MCFD and 600 BWPD ~ PERFS 14,955 to 21,920 (EST)." That tells me they have upped the oil production to 3,000 barrels per day, the gas number is unchanged and the water number is 600 Barrels per day.
They are currently drilling an ejection well to get rid of the water. I presume the water is salt water which is common. So they will pump the water back down into the earth at a depth somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 feet down.
So they are still dealing with the water. And my nephew says they are still flaring off the gas. That means they will also have a separator installed to separate the water from the oil.
Perhaps Mr. Miller should retire from Baton Rouge and move back to either St. Francisville or Batchelor. I mean with the new John J. Audubon Bridge he can cross over at will to Pointe Coupee from West Feleciana. Or perhaps he still lives in St. Francisville and commutes to Baton Rouge. Matters not, he should come down from his elevated perch and breath the same air as we do.
And now, maybe we can move on . . .
SONRIS update dated 11/18/2011 shows the following numbers: "3000 BOFD, 2500 MCFD and 600 BWPD ~ PERFS 14,955 to 21,920 (EST)." That tells me they have upped the oil production to 3,000 barrels per day, the gas number is unchanged and the water number is 600 Barrels per day.
They are currently drilling an ejection well to get rid of the water. I presume the water is salt water which is common. So they will pump the water back down into the earth at a depth somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 feet down.
So they are still dealing with the water. And my nephew says they are still flaring off the gas. That means they will also have a separator installed to separate the water from the oil.
Perhaps Mr. Miller should retire from Baton Rouge and move back to either St. Francisville or Batchelor. I mean with the new John J. Audubon Bridge he can cross over at will to Pointe Coupee from West Feleciana. Or perhaps he still lives in St. Francisville and commutes to Baton Rouge. Matters not, he should come down from his elevated perch and breath the same air as we do.
And now, maybe we can move on . . .
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