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PTINS

Burnt Ends
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Everything posted by PTINS

  1. Agree 100%. Sark asked and answered his own question, "What is the biggest difference between the B12 & SEC?". DL, which everybody already knows. The Big 12 has 1st round NFL DL every year, and they scheme for them when they play them. The SEC has NFL DL across the board, every week, and having multiple high end players is more difficult to scheme against. DL is the only real ??? this year, and with what is already campus, Texas is top half, maybe top quarter of the SEC, behind Georgia and Alabama. Improvements at Edge, LB and DB should help the DL. Other than DL, Texas is pretty damn solid. Texas made a lot of Alabama's NFL 1st & 2nd rounders look very pedestrian last year. No reason to expect this year to be any different.
  2. Ukraine does not have enough artillery and offensive weapons to fight the fight they were fighting a year ago. When the US was leading an international wave of support for Ukraines defense, Ukraine towed the line (US preference) on hitting "military targets." Ukraine systematically targeted the smallish fuel depots and terminals close to the front lines and stayed away from the the heart of the energy complex, the refineries themselves. Basically, Its okay to fight back against Russia, as long as gasoline prices in the US stay within an acceptable range. Yeah, I know we sanctioned Russia's petroleum and refined product exports (wink. wink.), but its keeping the US in their comfort zone. Now, Akash Maniam, MD 🇺🇦 @ManiamAkash "Ukraine's fighting an existential war and the US is playing politics in an election year. What an utter farce." Ukraine cannot adequately defend themselves, much less prosecute a war effort that allows them to reclaim there Country. With the US sitting on their hands watching from the cheap seats, Ukraine is fighting the only war they can, which is directionally to cripple Russia's war machine. Period. That would be their energy production. Not storage tanks, but the refineries. Ukraine is fighting for survival. If the collateral damage is rising energy prices Worldwide, ... umm...OK. Now the rest of the world can appreciate what is happening. Oil, and the refined products derived from the production, are a worldwide commodity that is affected my a multitude of factors. This is the issue that drove American & British foreign policy for the past 100 years, to have control, or at least influence, on worldwide oil production. The Shale Revolution allowed the US to become self sufficient in energy production (~ 14 MM bbl/day) for the first time since ... not my lifetime at least? While the US is self sufficient in production, we export 4-5 MM bbl/day and import ~ 2.5 MM bbl/day. We export the lighter shale crude oil, which looks like Quaker State out of the can, and import the heavier, nastier crude oil that looks like Jed Clampett's back yard. The US refining capacity was converted from a light crude slate to a heavy crude slate 20-40 years ago, and that mix is required to maximize the production from US refineries, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc. We import oil, some to balance US demand, and some for the sole purpose of exporting refined products. Odds are the delicate balance between production, refining and consumption is getting ready to be challenged in a way most have not envisioned.
  3. Texas DE Colin Simmons on Why He Chose Texas Worth the watch. Quality young man gonna wreck some shit up this year. " ... another reason I came early is so I can get stronger faster ..." Said he's already gained 20 lbs.
  4. Crude Oil =/= Refined Products Sorry, should have posted this in the "I did not know that" thread. The shroud prevents leaking oil from accumulating on the garage floor, and improves aerodynamics. The Porsche 944S required a lift to replace the oil filter; the wheels had to drop down all the away for proper access. It also required a ~ 30" screwdriver to change the lower radiator hose; it could only be accessed from the top of the engine. It was a marvel of engineering, but impossible to maintain without the special set of Porsche tools. Not meant for weekend warrior maintenance.
  5. I did the same. They could make it a lot easier and simply tell you it will take this many priority points to get season tickets. Are all current season ticket holders guaranteed of getting tickets this year, before any waitlist person?
  6. Whatever Frank Erwin was, I don't recall that his demeanor was driven by his ego. He was a hard ass SOB, like pretty most every Texan in power in that era. He was behind the building boom of the 60's & 70's, good or bad. Good, in that the growth was needed, Disch-Falk, Upper Deck & Belmont, Super Drum, bad, in that open space gave way to buildings, and Jester was butt ugly. Function over form was the mantra. IMO, his polarizing personality did as much to effect changes at The University of Texas as anybody before, or after him. More about this in a second. Really wish you would clearly articulate what you really think! (just kidding 🙂 ) DKR wouldn't get in the mud w/ Barry Switzer. That helped OU, and hurt Texas. FE literally moved the earth for UT. He was never about feelings. Looking at the Super Drum from 2024 is a far cry from 1974. Gregory Gym was a cool place for intramural sports and pick-up BBall games, and for some bad Texas Basketball. I don't remember if I ever saw a musical act there, but there's a lot of things I don't remember, even 2 days after I did them. The Super Drum was infinitely better than Gregory Gym for Basketball Ball. A/C and Floor Seats. End of argument. The birth of NCAA Women's Basketball, and sports, was cradled in the Super Drum. Before the SD, Austin's "larger" concert venues were the Municipal Auditorium, City Coliseum, DKR (only once, "ZZ Top's Rompin', Stompin' Barn Dance and BBQ"). There were a number of quality small places and any number of out-in-the-country places that came and went. The SD may have been an acoustic train wreck, but it was much better than anything before it. Ironically, the SD enabled bigger crowds at Austin concerts, which was a contributing factor to the Armadillo's demise. "... was married with kids and working..." Mr. Brat, you're one my Surly heroes, but your doing it wrong. My son bought me a new set of golf clubs for my 1st Fathers Day, when he was 9 months old. Even my wife laughed. My son "played" a '68 Gold Top w/ my brother when he was a toddler and grew up with an admirable appreciation for music, the kind of music I grew up with. Nothing brings me more joy than watching him playing music around town. His playing a tribute to Roky Erickson on his passing was special. Mr. Brat, thanks for posting that story. This was my coming of age, growing up in Austin/Bergstrom, w/ a strict military Brat upbringing, w/ a guitar playing older brother and a varsity cheerleader older sister. I always got to hang out with the older, cool kids. Had friends w/ older brothers & sister at UT. Hippie chicks and VW buses. New teachers every year from UT and San Marcos. Music, and everything that went with it, was everywhere. I remember the "Battle of Waller Creek", think about it every time I'm on campus, or at Crown & Anchor. The original tree-huggers. The first time I saw the open defiance of authority, the news of kids being pulled from the trees. That spark lit a firestorm in Austin that ... changed the world. It certainly my world. When I was 13, we went to the pregame pep rally before the 69' Texas-Arkansas game, and later played some football with the bigger kids south of Taylor Hall. I remember walking along the Belmont construction, through the mud along Waller Creek. Euphoria over the football team, and nothing but a sense of hostility towards the administration, any administration, for Frank Erwin, for LBJ. "Joined" the Student Mobilization Committee, because my Young Life mentor from UT, Bev, was the coolest person ever. Told me I was "a Head"; not sure what that meant, but I knew it was better than being a tail. Damn, I was so naive! Frank Erwin led UT through a dramatic growth spurt, capitalizing on the success of Texas Football. His funding efforts built, DKR's Upper Deck & Bellmont Hall, Disch-Falk Field (opened my freshman year with the '75 National Championship Team), the Texas Swimming Center, and the Super Drum. His efforts also led to The Humanities Research Center, Jester, Burdine Hall, PMA, the PCL, and numerous other buildings, along with the expansion of the 40 acres east of I-35. But Frank Erwin's polarizing antics did not sit well with many people, and UT changed because of that, for the better. The Good Ole Boy network of Texas Politics was forever changed. Once the gates were open, there was no going back. Shortly after, UT made a concerted effort to change the demographics of the campus, to more closely mirror the population of Texas. Myself, and others, were given, and earned, academic scholarships based on a combination of being "disadvantaged" educationally, socially, and economically, and coincidentally, minorities. Frank Erwin, by influencing and changing those around me, changed and influenced me. Because of him, and like minded souls, I grew up idolizing those who stood up for their beliefs, and went against the mainstream. Won't repost your picture, that's nasty! Made me think about The Classic Cat; my belt w/ my Father's Longhorn buckle got taken out of my car one night... Now the bathroom at the Armadillo,... there was one stall with ~ 2" diameter hole in the floor, no fixture, just a hole... before their time in conserving water. If I recall, the Guacamole Queen was a painting of a beefy, butch biker chic ...
  7. Kate & Rooney Mara are the great grand-daughters of both the NY Giants founder Tim Mara and the Pittsburg Steelers founder Art Rooney, Sr. Rooney, is a little softer on the eyes, Kate has the better rack. When going through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific, you travel from the Northwest to the Southeast. A wildlife biologist told me there are more Audad in Texas than their native Africa.
  8. My screenshot of Russian Refineries, Orange font is damaged to some extent, Red, not nyet. Ukraine has attacked 3 of the 5 largest refineries in Russia. Owner - Refinery Capacity Bbl/Day Gazprom Neft - Omsk 444,600 Surgutneftegaz - Kirishi 420,000 Rosneft - Ryazan 342,000 Lukoil - Nizhny Novgorod 341,000 Lukoil - Volgograd 314,000 Of the stocks I watch, Valero was the only one positive yesterday, +2.7%. I'm guessing they're running at capacity right now. Ukraine hitting the Russian refining infrastructure is indicative of the waining support from the US.
  9. I'm betting there's a lot of things you don't understand. The primary task of the Highland Lakes is Flood Control. Recreation was a by product, never a primary concern. Lake Travis was always meant to be a surge control for the Colorado River. The water use, and rights downstream have always taken priority over the conditions on Lake Travis. Lake Travis will release a minimal amount of water for downstream water needs, and will restrict water discharges when the downstream river levels reach a certain point. In the not to distant future, there will be 50 million people living between DFW and San Antonio. There are not enough water resources to support that many people. Who is They? You and your neighbors going to foot the bill for this? The rocks have always been there. Perhaps it's the dumbass who hit the rocks is the one that came out of nowhere? Reminds me of the time some guy ran his boat aground at Pace Bend Park and couldn't understand why no one would take him to back to Lago Vista. It was only a mile away, by helicopter, or 50 miles, and a 3 hour round trip, by car. Yeah, setting off explosive charges to fracture the natural limestone adjacent to Mansfield Dam sounds like a great idea. The water level in the Trinity Aquifer dropped 50' last year. Not a lake, the aquifer. That is a much bigger issue than the water levels in Lake Travis. There is not enough water for the amount of people that want it. End of Story. Great Picture. Not a house is site. One would think the river channel at the base of the damn would be the deepest part. IGNORANT, SELFISH ASSHOLES!!! Simply amazing how so many people move to a very desirable habitat, and then intentionally fuck it up.
  10. That sounds like a script for a Bruce Willis movie. A bad one. The energy contained in the facilities at an LNG Plant are immense, but an explosion impacting an area from BPA to Lake Charles is a stretch. In 1992, the MAPCO Natural Gas Liquid (NGL) underground storage facility near Brenham, TX was over filled, sending high pressure NGLs to atmosphere. The NGLs were heavier than air, there was little wind, and the vapor cloud flowed across the ground until it found an ignition source. The shock wave was felt in the downtown towers in Houston ( ~ 50 miles away). People said the blinds moved. The physical damage was confined to an area proximate to the vapor cloud. People used to make poor jokes that industrial accidents in Houston were measured on the Richter Scale. "LNG? NGL? Whatever it takes." For a LNG disaster as described: LNG Storage tanks are double-walled, with a carbon steel outer wall and a nickel-steel inner tank, which is housed in a reinforced concrete shell that is 20-30" thick. The probability of failure; more than 0.0, but very low. (Nuclear reactors were designed to withstand a direct hit from a 747.) You could draw up scenario where... 100% of every piece of equipment, pipe, process columns, storage tanks (160,000 M3 per tank, 5,600,000 Ft3), LNG tankers (~ 250,000 M3, 8,800,000 Ft3) , etc. are filled to 100% of volume and 100% of operating pressure, and ... all of that volume of LNG would have to be moved to the open air, and ... all of that volume of LNG at -260 °F would have to be warmed up (no open flames) to the point it would vaporize, (1 Ft3 of LNG ~ 600 Ft3 of natural gas), and ... all of that 100 % LNG would have to be diluted with air to a 5-15% concentration, and ... that immense vapor cloud of explosive gas and air would need to be corralled some how, (methane is lighter than air and will rise), and ... then some Darwin candidate would have to light a match, and the mother of all fuel air bombs would go ... Big Bada Boom! Even then, most of the heat and energy would go upwards... you've seen the videos. The first time I went to Mont Belvieu in 1980, I had similar concerns. I enjoyed my career in the energy sector, but I'm happy for my exposure to be down to filling up my personal vehicles.
  11. Hey, looks like he did okay on the ejection.
  12. Thank you. You made my day. Music hits us, and resonates with us, for so many different reasons. This song does it for me, one of those songs that makes me stop what I'm doing, and just listen. It always takes me back, to the darkest of day of my youth. But it always helps me remember, all the days before.
  13. This is a big step towards Ukraine targeting the refinery towers themselves as opposed to storage tanks. Everybody likes big fires. The tank farms are easier targets, in that hand grenade close is good enough, but you only damage the tanks and the products in the tanks. All it takes to repair them is plate steel and labor. Knocking out the towers is huge, like taking out the heart. The towers themselves are also rolled, plate steel, but the control systems and instrumentation are specialized equipment that is No Bueno for Russia. There have already been portions of Russian refining capacity shut down because of sanctions stopping the availability of critical equipment, to the point Russia was already curtailing the exports of refined products. It is relatively easy for Russia to export crude oil to the black market. Importing significant quantities of refined products is a much bigger issue.
  14. Vulcan was before I was a teenager. Closed before I came of age. "You said rape The Armadillo twice." I liked The Armadillo!!! My favorite music venue ever, nothing else even comes close. Saw so many bands and groups there, perfecting their craft, on their way to bigger things. Austin was a laid back, comfortable, Willie & Waylon and the boys kinda town. But the energy in Austin was different. And the Armadillo, on those hot steamy nights, was off the charts. Musicians bouncing around the stage, sweat running down their faces, with that glaze in their eyes, "They want more, ... I have to give them more!" The Armadillo was small, everyone was close to the stage. They sold more beer than the Astrodome. KLBJ night for $.94 and their 3 for a $1 nacho's makes me smile every time I think about it. Re; Springsteens love of Austin; The raw, high energy Boss at the Armadillo was magical. He was not alone. I saw Tom Petty at the Austin Opry House in '79, and again at the Erwin Center in 2017. He expressed similar sentiments of Austin. No comparison to seeing those shows in the smaller, more personal venues. I probably saw Freddie King at the Armadillo more there than any other musician. I'm not sure if this is the same painting from the Armadillo, and later, Threadgills, bit it captures the feeling between musicians and the Armadillo, and Austin. I listed mostly '69-'79 venue's, as that was my golden age of seeing quality live music in and around Austin. I lived elsewhere from mid '79 til 2015. My Bad. Still there. My neighbor and coach took me there after an American Legion baseball game. I was 15. Not the same as it was, but its still there, at least. "I dance country at the Broken Spoke". Still got he bumper sticker. I wish!
  15. Don’t go to a parking lot. Go someplace with trees that have individual leaves, so you can see the crescent shaped shadows.
  16. I am not defending Excel. Period. I am pushing back on the notion that everything done by every utility is driven 100% by profits. Is sounds like Excel was notified the pole was "snapped' in two, certainly damaged beyond repair, and the replacement should have been repaired prioritized. I'm pretty sure any bad pole in the 50,000 square miles of West Texas is in a dry and windy area. Re: The Bastrop fire; I commented that I read reports early in the process that a controlled burn got out of control was a cause of a fire proximate to Bastrop. I have not read the final reports and have not seen any info pertaining to any litigation of same. Buried power lines are easy for new developments. For retro fits, they are extremely intrusive and expensive. Damn near everybody I know with power lines on their property has issue with trees encroaching on the power/phone lines, and have chosen to keep the majority of the trees rather than cutting back the trees to the "recommended" distance. I don't live in areas with above ground lines, and don't live close to "green belts" that are really high pressure O&G pipelines. Shit happens and people make poor choices.
  17. I don't believe any other country has the litigious nature and punitive cost structure of the US.
  18. A fire may have started in the vicinity of a damaged power pole ... "its facilities appear to have played a role" A busted pole does not necessarily mean it caused the fire. Re: The Bastrop Fire, I thought it started from a TAMU Forest Service controlled fire, that under windy conditions, got out of control. "Similar litigation" ... Sue the big company because they failed to do their tree trimming. Were they in the vicinity of the fire? No, it doesn't matter, they failed to do their tree trimming, so pay me and I'll go away. Damn right. Every tree and every branch in proximity to every power line must be trimmed after ongoing, repeated inspections, every week?, month?, or year? (because, you know, those damn things keep growing back). If it was up to utilities, there would be no trimming involved, because there would not be a single tree or branch encroaching in the Right-of-way. Period. Just laser straight ribbons of grass with power lines running down the middle. Instead, you see things like this every place you go. Layers and layers of people, HOA's, agencies, foundations and companies, each with their own attorneys, saying you CANNOT trim that particular tree, branch, limb, twig or leaf. Either you clear the ROW, or you don't. Kinda like being pregnant. No grey areas. The O&G industry is allowed to clear the ROW. In my experience, they fly the lines on a routine basis, identify encroachments (trees, barns, houses, driveways, buildings etc.), and remove them. In my first job, we had people walk from Tulsa to St. Louis, to document any abnormality along the pipeline route, things that could be identified from an airplane, which was the federal regulation. That was not normal or routine, or required, but something that was deemed necessary to ensure public safety and the operational integrity of that particular asset. Granted, power lines don't usually explode. So, $4+ Billion for attorney's fees, and the rest into a trust. Money is set aside for the expressed intent of repairing and maintaining facilities, including ROW. And, invariably, some one will sue them to prevent them for doing just that. "FWIW, every day folks take their work seriously." I have read that the pole was damaged, or snapped off (broken into 2 pieces, which doesn't necessarily mean the business end was touching the ground, maybe he hanging suspended in the air, or fallen. Each of those mean different things, and each would be addressed differently, including the time frame in which thet would be repaired or replaced. Some would say if it can't be replaced immediately, just cut off the power until it can be. That is the only way to be 100% safe. Do you agree? I agree. It is compounded by the fact that power lines and the power generation facilities are owned by different entities. When the legislature privatized the "public utilities", there was not a lot of forward thinking in their decision making. How can going from a public utility to a mosaic of for-profit companies be a bad thing? Addressed above. Well for one, we have a populace that demands to be catered to, without having any real idea what they are talking about. There has to be balance between science and economics. We could build planes that never crash, but nobody would be able to afford to fly. If something is done to 100% satisfaction, they are deemed to be negligent. Their has to be an allowance for failure, including people occasionally making a poor decision. Saddling an entity with a $10+Billion judgement because one individual made a bad decision is ludicrous, but that is the world we live in. Thanks! I guess I could have just made a shorter post. To be clear, I don't accept compromising safety for profit. I have the scars to prove it. But shit happens.
  19. Per the tweet, Russian radar planes Russia has 2 types. These are the Beriev A-50 and the Beriev A-100. Both are built on the basis of the Ilyushin Il-76. The Conversion and repair plant is located in Taganrog. Happy Hunting!
  20. Mom's still kicking at 94. Kicking be the operative word, so be nice! She took us to see the Batman World Premier at the Paramount in 1966, and to see Led Zeppelin in '69 for my 13th birthday. Sleepy little town getting a bit older? Let's see ... The Paramount, Municipal Auditorium, The Teen Club at Bergstrom AFB, City Coliseum, Kings Village, Antone's, The Armadillo, DKR-TMS, Mother Earth, Austin Opry House, The Back Room, The Armadillo, Continental Club, Soap Creek Saloon, Silver Dollar, Broken Spoke, Rauls >> ???, Club Foot, 3rd Coast, Super Drum >> Erwin Center, C-Boys, COTA, Moody Center,
  21. I remember the '77-78 Inaugural season of the Super Drum that included Texas beating Arkansas' Final 4 team w/ the "Triplets", and Texas winning the NIT Championship and Abe Lemons winning the National Coach of the Year. Abe had a national following and recruited Johnny Moore (PG) from NYC, CO-NIT MVP's Ron Baxter (PF), the LA HS Player of the Year, & Jim Krivacs (SG), a transfer who earned All-America honors, and Ovie Dotson, a future Harlem Globetrotter. I played pick-up games w/ Krivacs in Gregory Gym, before I knew who he was. F*cker! The Super Drum was big step up in concert venue's from the Municipal Auditorium and City Coliseum. Back in the day, you could buy an annual pass for Intercollegiate Athletics for ~$30/year and Cultural Entertainment for $10/year. Oh, ... for the good ole days.
  22. His NFL Combine interview is worthy of the time you spend watching it. You can’t hear the questions so you have to read between the lines. His HS sophomore track times is the last time he ran track. Covid took his JR year and he graduated early his SR year. He thinks he could run a 10.2, maybe a 10.1. He came to the Combine to get the record. Thinks he has a very high football IQ, maybe higher than anybody at the combine. I don’t dIsagree with him. Knowledgeable of most NFL offenses and players, said repeatedly that whatever team he was asked about runs the same run first offense as Texas. Great endorsement for Sark & Texas. He knows who all the fast football players are. He is not just a speed guy. Thinks his start, and stop & go quickness is his strongest attribute. (Different video, but his HS Coach said the same thing.) Thinks he has good hands, he just needs to have more focus. Prefers running the short and intermediate routes. He committed to Harbaugh and his pro style offense. When Michigan screwed up his paperwork, he committed to Sark without ever seeing Texas. From a Pat McAfee video, Pat said the Ewers moon shot at Alabama came down like a bottle rocket falling from the sky. I only mention that because X tracked that ball very well, and at other times that has not been his strong suit.
  23. I fucking love this video. 4.21 without the benefit of pushing out of the blocks. I was going to say that's a fast MF, but nothing but respect for X. Fast. Fast. Fast. Look at all the other players take off running towards him after his time posts. He's also earned the respect of his peers. Even Stacey Dales in her pink blazer took off jogging to get to Xavier. Great moment for him. And us.
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