June 28, 2004

Lots of Pictures

Photos from 2nd houseboat trip to Dale Hollow.

Photos from Chris' Ordination to the priesthood.

Photos from 2004 Correct Craft Reunion at Cedar Point.

Posted by bourea at 04:33 AM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2004

H2O

Mandy and I have been waterskiing a lot lately. Mandy learned how to wakeboard on Thursday. She did great and got up on her first try! :-) Last weekend, I learned how to wakeskate, which is blast! I definitely recommend it. The falls are a lot easier on you than wakeboarding, since you don't get the catapult effect into the water since your feet aren't attached to the board.

Posted by bourea at 10:28 PM | Comments (1)

June 22, 2004

Oil and Gas production

It seems a news fad has developed, the reporting that oil and gas production has or is close to peaking worldwide. From what I have read, it appears that production is definitely in decline and demand is increasing, especially in Asia. I found reading the article Peak Oil Revisited especially informative.

It is chilling to think about energy shortages, especially the effects it will have on the American way of life. Now is the time, to start making ourselves more efficient. The article I mentioned above, had a few ideas along this line:

  • Using a burner tip in a multitude of industrial practices, or in boiling water, was immensely more efficient than converting gas into electricity.

  • Gong to a “three-shift” economy, where everyone would be required to work graveyard shifts about one-third of the time, was a way to avoid overloads to the grid. The reason is simple, he said. Power generating stations run all night while very little electricity is drawn. Plants cannot be shut down and restarted. After you turn an electrical generating station off, it takes a week to bring it back on line. That’s called “spinning” and it’s extremely expensive. “Instead of having everything peak between 4 and 6 PM you can spread it out and still have some growth because you’ll be making use of capacity that is not being used during off hours.”

  • I thought about how far ahead Europe, and especially Germany was in its thinking. All electrical uses in hotel rooms are made possible only when your room key is inserted into a slot. Leave the room, take the key, and everything shuts off automatically. Every gas station I saw in Germany had the option for people to purchase biodiesel, the cheapest grade of fuel, at about 90 US cents a liter. (And you think US gas prices are bad! Premium gasoline was selling at just under $5 (US) per gallon). At those prices it’s easy to understand why German drivers, when they come to ubiquitous railroad crossings, automatically shut off their engines until the train passes.


    • Posted by bourea at 03:38 PM | Comments (1)

    June 14, 2004

    Ordination

    Mandy and I went to see my friend, Chris Bazar, ordained to the priesthood this past Saturday. The ordination was celebrated at Rosary Cathedral in downtown Toledo by Bishop Blair. It was an inspirational ceremony, rich in heritage and tradition. We are all proud of Father Chris and know he will make a great priest! Chris has a servant heart and is a blessing to the Catholic Church. His first assignment in the Toledo diocese will be at Christ the King parish (in Sylvania Ohio).

    Posted by bourea at 04:15 AM | Comments (1)

    June 04, 2004

    Memorial Day Weekend

    Justin, Mandy and I went down to Dale Hollow in Tennessee (with the Glass City Waterski Club) over Memorial Day Weekend. We enjoyed a long weekend of air chairing, barefooting, kneeboarding, skiing, wakeboarding, and wakeskating. We rode down in style and comfort within Justin's F250. The top trick for the weekend was Bob's jump from the top of the houseboat to start his barefoot run. My favorite pull of the weekend was riding the airchair behind Gary's boat.

    I took my digital video camera and recorded a lot of great footage. It is amazing how much better the footage I took using the polarization filter looks. Polarization helps clarity and color correctness, especially in terms of skin tone. I will be posting pictures and a few videos shortly.

    Posted by bourea at 07:16 PM | Comments (0)