….or How to Haul Hay at Night.
Hay bailing, and hauling, in Oklahoma summers is like being in hell during a dust storm.
I recall one particularly hot day when it was well over one hundred degrees with no wind and no clouds to give shade.
The nearest tree was three hundred yards away and in those days tractors only had umbrellas for shade; ours did not have umbrellas. Our water cooler was filled with lemonade and a splash or two, or three, or…a goodly portion of vodka.(Makes me think of “Mad dogs and Englishmen” and their Gin & Tonic for hot weather, no one else would go outside.)
About lunchtime we decided to go to the barn and install floodlights so we could haul the hay and stack it at night when the temperature might fall below one hundred.
Kids.
We spent four hours in the barn putting up our lights.
The temperature in the barn was significantly higher than outside, but we were in the shade
A barn with a corrugated tin roof is pretty much an oven.
We had no fans.
Here are the results of our brilliantly conceived and flawlessly executed plan.
We traded four hours in a hot field for four hours in a hotter barn.
We still had to haul the hay.
We added four hours to our workday.
This lesson in short term, not looking beyond step one, thinking is burned into my brain.
At least there was no TV to miss.
Now there is a lot of TV to miss, and it should be.
There are so many examples of short term, not thinking beyond step one, unintended consequences, sheer stupidity and ignorance in the liberal / leftist / socialist / communist / Marxist / greenies (we need to coin a word for these folks) that I hardly know where to start.
All that I think of are so glaringly obvious that it is hard for me to see anyone here not being aware of them.
For instance:
Giving unions control of what is taught in schools.
Giving the EPA, an unelected agency, the power to control air, water, and land use.
The ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) controlling our highways.
The BATFE trying to control everything else, our guns, our booze, our smokes, and stuff to blow up stumps and get rid of large rocks.
We can shoot the bad guy, in most states, but the (word not yet coined) say we can not use more than ten bullets, more that ten is not fair to the bad guy.
I prefer a double tap with a 12 gauge using OO buck or a semi auto 45ACP. If the bad guy still twitches,what the hell, bullets are cheaper than dying in your own home.
Preventing the development and use of our own natural resources, this one is incredible
Not supporting our allies, real foresight there.
Decimating the military, back to where we were in 1941, ready, willing, and unable.
Revealing state secrets; hey Russia, here is what we gave England, here is what we have, but we will get rid of it.
Protect Europe? Not a chance.
Stand with the country of Israel? No way.
This business of letting guns walk to Mexico smacks of intentional escalating of border problems.
The opposing of Arizona defending Arizona’s border, in accordance with Federal Law, is intentional escalating of the problems on the border.
This administration fully intends to destroy America.
AC, the point of your story seems to be that people of goodwill can sometimes not think ahead and get themselves (and others) into trouble because of it. This is true, and you have a few good examples of it. However, some of your examples are actually examples of people intentionally doing the wrong thing, as you sum up with, “This administration fully intends to destroy America.” There is a big difference between mistakenly doing what you think is right and intentionally mucking things up.
Good article.
Got me thinking in different terms about some recent news stories.
Like how we are friends of Saudi Arabia and not that close to Israel under Obama.
But things can change.
Um, yeah,
Like the USA would have an oil exporting ally in the Middle East that is actually democratic without any Sharia compliance.
Like the USA would have a new proven clean technique for pulling oil from shale that would up our own oil production exponentially.
Let’s just hope Obama’s throwing Israel to the wolves does not result in her destruction before we get there, OK?
Do you know that at least half of the Bakken formation is in Saskatchewan?
The Bakken formation has no outcrops or is self sealing. Can be contamination free.
The dominant downhole pressures are man made. IE.- fracturing, acidizing, co2 sequestrations, etc. Thus we can do underbalanced drilling, choking, check valves, etc. You get the idea.
The EPA will look like fools when you look across the border and see oil derricks in Saskatchewan.
Why don’t the states have complete control of their natural resources like the provinces in Canada?
Increasing daily US production from 7 to 10 million barrels would create over 3 million highly productive jobs.
Their are so many males running around N. Dakota now,that even the canaries are singing bass.
I wrote a “Reader Post” Essay on this very subject recently.
Oil Guy From Alberta is DEAD ON THE SPOT!
You can read my piece HERE:
How to Restore America to Greatness [Reader Post]
By: Nostradamus
The word “not yet coined” that you are looking for is “libtard”…. it pretty much covers the gamut.
@oil guy from alberta: What about the Russians, Chinese and others drilling in the gulf. Can that oil and gas from our waters be pulled out by others?
Randy, the max length on 90% 3 and a half inch drill string is about 35,000 feet. One third is pilot hole and two thirds horizontal with a declination of 35 degrees. Rough math gives a horizontal of 4 miles max. You can’t go further because you part the drill pipe on a max bottom pull. Drill line has to be 2 inches minimum.
So, there is little chance others can take our gulf oil as long as they stay outside of our waters? Thanks for the explaination.
Randy, you got it right
In my last job I worked for someone I accused of “short term thinking” when it came to business. The particulars were different, but the general gist of his kind of thinking was along the same lines.
He was more concerned with the ‘here and now’, and how much he could squeeze out of our customers as quickly as possible, rather than cultivate a long term relationship with the customers by being fair and just in pricing and service charges which could result in a better return over the long haul.
In AC’s article, the government seems to be more concerned with the ‘here and now’ in regards to oil and energy production, rather than put in the work necessary to ensure the long term viability of US energy production.