The Official Oil Spill Thread....

[Ponch ®]

yeah, but even then you can't have it both ways. I for one think the less the feds get involved in anything, the better.

They should be involved when people want them involed. People want the National Guard to show up and help a flooded neighborhood. They want their property and lives protected. They want highways and bridges maintained, etc. If the help (or lack thereof) isn't helping it's not help

theoretically, yes. But "the people" in general are uninformed to know any better.

[TK73]

[Mike DC]

                                  
                           
I doubt the 11 dead rig workers care much about the govt's botched cleanup response.  


This whole accident didn't need to happen.  It was entirely preventable.  



 

[bull]

yeah, but even then you can't have it both ways. I for one think the less the feds get involved in anything, the better.

They should be involved when people want them involved. People want the National Guard to show up and help a flooded neighborhood. They want their property and lives protected. They want highways and bridges maintained, etc. If the help (or lack thereof) isn't helping it's not help

theoretically, yes. But "the people" in general are uninformed to know any better.

Actually, I shouldn't complain I guess. The only "accomplishment" this admin can point to so far is a doomed heath care bill that most people didn't want. The less they do the less we have to undo.

[0X01B8]

yeah, but even then you can't have it both ways. I for one think the less the feds get involved in anything, the better.

They should be involved when people want them involved. People want the National Guard to show up and help a flooded neighborhood. They want their property and lives protected. They want highways and bridges maintained, etc. If the help (or lack thereof) isn't helping it's not help

theoretically, yes. But "the people" in general are uninformed to know any better.

Actually, I shouldn't complain I guess. The only "accomplishment" this admin can point to so far is a doomed heath care bill that most people didn't want. The less they do the less we have to undo.

The government hasn't run a successful project since WWII but we still think it's just a problem of personnel.

[Ponch ®]

yeah, but even then you can't have it both ways. I for one think the less the feds get involved in anything, the better.

They should be involved when people want them involved. People want the National Guard to show up and help a flooded neighborhood. They want their property and lives protected. They want highways and bridges maintained, etc. If the help (or lack thereof) isn't helping it's not help

theoretically, yes. But "the people" in general are uninformed to know any better.

Actually, I shouldn't complain I guess. The only "accomplishment" this admin can point to so far is a doomed heath care bill that most people didn't want. The less they do the less we have to undo.

The government hasn't run a successful project since WWII but we still think it's just a problem of personnel.

Wrong. The Mercury-Gemini-Apollo programs. But that's about it.

[0X01B8]

yeah, but even then you can't have it both ways. I for one think the less the feds get involved in anything, the better.

They should be involved when people want them involved. People want the National Guard to show up and help a flooded neighborhood. They want their property and lives protected. They want highways and bridges maintained, etc. If the help (or lack thereof) isn't helping it's not help

theoretically, yes. But "the people" in general are uninformed to know any better.

Actually, I shouldn't complain I guess. The only "accomplishment" this admin can point to so far is a doomed heath care bill that most people didn't want. The less they do the less we have to undo.

The government hasn't run a successful project since WWII but we still think it's just a problem of personnel.

Wrong. The Mercury-Gemini-Apollo programs. But that's about it.

Yes, I forgot.  The Saturn V rocket was bad ass.  Never a failure.

[Beer]

Guys here are some "unofficial" personal pics, yesterday, we had a pod of pilot whales a few hundred yards from us, alive and well checking out all the activity (sorry no pic, was using the binoculars for that one)!

Here is a pic of our radar, its on six mile scale, each of the text on the screen is AIS display of a vessel. You can see there is a active response on scene, vessels are anywhere from a $40,000 a day to $550,000 a day for the rigs.



This is from yesterday, Enterprise is the Drillship flaring (center), the other flare is the Q4000 (right).



Next couple of days we will be up close to Enterprise and DDII (Rig to the left).  CNN is calling our rig the Mystery Rig (West Sirius).

[Mike DC]

 

Wrong. The Mercury-Gemini-Apollo programs. But that's about it.

Yes, I forgot.  The Saturn V rocket was bad ass.  Never a failure.

That's because NASA was essentially a branch of the military in those days. 

The Saturn V was basically an ICBM like the stuff we would point at the Soviets.  NASA just pointed it straight up and replaced the nuclear warhead with a little glorified subermersible tank for 3 passengers. 

         

[Ponch ®]

 

Wrong. The Mercury-Gemini-Apollo programs. But that's about it.

Yes, I forgot.  The Saturn V rocket was bad ass.  Never a failure.

That's because NASA was essentially a branch of the military in those days. 

The Saturn V was basically an ICBM like the stuff we would point at the Soviets.  NASA just pointed it straight up and replaced the nuclear warhead with a little glorified subermersible tank for 3 passengers. 

         

Maybe...

the Redstone and Atlas rockets used in Mercury and Gemini more or less fit that description, but the Saturns were developed for the Apollo Moon missions, they were not converted ICBMs. But I see your point...

[bull]

Guys here are some "unofficial" personal pics, yesterday, we had a pod of pilot whales a few hundred yards from us, alive and well checking out all the activity (sorry no pic, was using the binoculars for that one)!

Here is a pic of our radar, its on six mile scale, each of the text on the screen is AIS display of a vessel. You can see there is a active response on scene, vessels are anywhere from a $40,000 a day to $550,000 a day for the rigs.



This is from yesterday, Enterprise is the Drillship flaring (center), the other flare is the Q4000 (right).



Next couple of days we will be up close to Enterprise and DDII (Rig to the left).  CNN is calling our rig the Mystery Rig (West Sirius).

Cool. If there was 1/4 of that activity 5,000 ft underwater we'd be in business.

[Mike DC]

Maybe...

the Redstone and Atlas rockets used in Mercury and Gemini more or less fit that description, but the Saturns were developed for the Apollo Moon missions, they were not converted ICBMs. But I see your point...

I heard that description from Jim Lovell at a speech a few years ago.  

He was talking about the early days of NASA and how different it felt from inside the program compared to the public presentation of it.  He said that today we think of NASA as a much more benign civilian program than it really was.  We were teaching ourselves to hit the moon with a rocket because it wasn't politically correct to practice hitting Moscow.  

[Beer]

Cool. If there was 1/4 of that activity 5,000 ft underwater we'd be in business.

Actually, bout 1/4 of the surface vessels are engaged in subsea activity. Rest are support, dispersant, spill clean up.

[chargerboy69]

I heard that description from Jim Lovell at a speech a few years ago.  

I think he would be considered a credible source by some regarding the early years of NASA.

[Arigmaster]

Everyone seems to be over-thinking this whole thing....

They should just drop a wedding ring down the well and it will stop putting out for sure!

[PocketThunder]

Everyone seems to be over-thinking this whole thing....

They should just drop a wedding ring down the well and it will stop putting out for sure!

             

[Todd Wilson]

Everyone seems to be over-thinking this whole thing....

They should just drop a wedding ring down the well and it will stop putting out for sure!

It would just put out for someone else..........Remember the old saying   Ring dont plug the hole!   



Todd

[Todd Wilson]

Thanks for the update Beer! Nice to hear info from someone thats right out there at the site and not some BS reporter on TV telling only certain things.



Todd

[Beer]

Some more unofficial personal pics...Have not had time to resize.
We should be in any vids or pics taken today, closest rig on the flare side.

[Khyron]

ENTERPRISE! 

[0X01B8]

Some more unofficial personal pics...Have not had time to resize.
We should be in any vids or pics taken today, closest rig on the flare side.

thanks for those pictures.
They're the best photos of the surface operation at the wellhead I've seen so far. Most are aerial shots or from a long distance.

[Mike DC]

Agreed.  Cool pics right up close.   

[Beer]

We are done fixing to leave and regroup for the next Free Standing Riser deployment...next one is going to likely be on the other side of the Enterprise on where the Q4000 is flaring.

[Todd Wilson]

Thanks for the update Beer!!!     Whats this storm talk I hear on the news?   Gonna create problems?



todd

[bull]

We are done fixing to leave and regroup for the next Free Standing Riser deployment...next one is going to likely be on the other side of the Enterprise on where the Q4000 is flaring.

So why can't they cap the pipe at the flange? Is there a potential issue with being able to stop the flow at all, even if they cap it off?