Move Over, Texas: There's Oil in North Dakota

""
The Minot Daily News (July 1, 2008)

"BEULAH (AP) - Oscar Stohler was raised in a sod house in western North Dakota and ranched there for nearly seven decades. He never gave much thought to what lay below the grass that fattened his cattle.

"When oilmen wanted to drill there last year, Stohler, 83, doubted oil would be found two miles underground on his property. He even joked about it.

" 'I told them if they hit oil, I was going to buy a Cadillac convertible and put those big horns on the front and wear a 10-gallon hat,' Stohler recalled.

"He still drives his old pickup and wears a mesh farm cap - but it's by choice...."

The Stohlers grew up in the Depression years, and learned how to handle money. They've splurged, but only to the extent of a new house: one with an automatic sprinkler system for the flower bed.

There's a chance that a third of the people in North Dakota's Mountrail County will be millionaires soon. I hope they all have the good sense that the Stohlers have shown.

The Chembots Are Coming

Update (October 20, 2009)

Related post:

• "The Chembots are Coming! It's Just Like "Terminator 2"! "
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (October 20, 2009)

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"Futuristic Chembots Squeeze Through Small Spaces"
LiveScience (July 1, 2008)

"Soft and squishy chemical robots will one day squeeze through tight spots then expand to 10 times larger, offering an advantage over rigid robots. Once a mission is complete, a chembot would biodegrade.

"The chembots could get into a building through a crack, for example. They could explore a cave or crevice and dismantle an explosive. Or they might climb ropes, wires or trees. Another tiny idea: One chembot could pack a smaller chembot into a situation, then release it for even more minute explorations.

"Researchers at Tufts University have received a $3.3 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to build the soft automatons...."

The article comes with a diagram, showing how a chembot would crawl and squeeze itself through a hole that's not as wide as it is.

Exciting possibilities.

The idea of chembots came from neurobiologist Barry Trimmer's studies of the nervous systems of caterpillars.

Minnesota Fireworks: Fear, Fun, and the Fourth

America's Independence Day is coming up Friday: July 4th.

Since fireworks on the Fourth is a big American tradition, things that go whiz, bang, and boom are in the news:

• "Avoid injuries, use fireworks safely"
  Hutchinson Leader (June 30, 2008)
  • "July 4 is one of our most widely celebrated holidays. Parades are followed by gatherings at the park, parties on the deck — and too often, trips to the emergency room.
  • " 'Traditionally, we celebrate generations of independence by allowing our children to play with wires coated with explosives that burn at 2,000 degrees,' says State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl, 'but there are no other circumstances under which we’d let our children anywhere near these things. Fireworks are not toys. They require strict attention to be used safely.'..."
• "Illegal fireworks: Easy to get, difficult to catch people with them"
  KARE 11 (June 30, 2008)
  • "With a warehouse full for Friday, Marc Zappa's fireworks store draws customers for miles.
  • " 'They come from all over,' Zappa said.
  • "And some of them leave with lots.
  • " 'There are definitely people who put on big shows, and they'll load up pickup loads of stuff,' Zappa said. 'And where they go with them, I don't know.'..."
  "Minnesota Fireworks Laws"
  B.J. ALAN COMPANY
  • This is a pretty quick-look resource for which fireworks are, and aren't, legal in Minnesota: with information that will help start more detailed research.
• "Local official urges caution when using fireworks"
  Bemidji Pioneer (June 28, 2008)
  • "Sixty-seven people were injured in June and July last year in Minnesota due to fireworks.
  • "According to the Minnesota State Fire Marshal, 45 of those injured (78 percent) were 29 years old or younger.
  • "With the Fourth of July quickly approaching, along come the yearly warnings promoting fireworks safety...."

I was going to be witty about this, advising people not to eat sparklers, and warning that lit firecrackers do not make good earplugs. But the more safety-conscious among us do have a point.

Please: use common sense at the fourth. don't be one of those several dozen that'll probably hurt themselves this weekend. If there are too many of you, the more risk-adverse Minnesotans may wind up reinstating the old fireworks ban.