[deckofficer]

Hi everyone,

I went back to college in my 40's to do professionally what I always enjoyed for pleasure....sailing. I graduated High Honors from the California Maritime Academy in 1997 and sailed with Sealand and also a small break-bulk carrier. I then jumped ship due to relentless recruiting from the oil drilling companies to work aboard drilling vessels. Due to the fact that current large oil discoveries are 100+ miles offshore, these drill platforms are deemed vessels as they hold position via thrusters instead of being jack-ups or moored. This was an education into just how greedy and nasty top oil honchos are in this industry. During a world record breaking water depth drilling, Dick Cheany then CEO of Halliburton was aboard the rig. If I live to be 2000 years old I doubt I will ever meet anyone that can match his arrogance. I lasted just under 5 years in Oil, leaving before my options were vested. I do have hard feelings and would love to see the world rid itself of Big Oil's control. I drive 2 differant electric vehicles and love the total reliability of this powertrain. I am still a motorhead, but now big torque at 0 rpms and silent linear power is what gets me off. I hope the GM Volt will educate the masses to these same feelings I have concerning personal transport. Once people get used to electric vehicles and their almost zero maintanance and repairs they will never go back to ICE. Mother Earth will also thank you for stopping the assault on her. Best wishes to all of you early adopters.

Bob aka "deckofficer"

 

[MetrologyFirst]

Welcome aboard!

This is a great place to have some sensible discussions about the Volt.

 

[Texas]

Good story. I think the methods needed to hold the rigs in place demonstrates just how far oil companies are willing to go (or have to go).

Oh, I have a question... With all the extra energy needed to produce harder-to-extract oil (deep wells, tar sands, shale, etc.) along with increasing global demand (real) I was wondering what the projected CO2 emission levels are as well as projected well-to-wheel efficiencies. Might make for interesting conversation.

 

[Eric E]

You came to the right place.

Well Mr. Ex Oilman-

You sure came to the right place. You'll find some sensible people here who understand exactly how you feel. We all have our own reasons for liking the Volt, but one thing is certain, the Volt is the biggest step towards the electrification of the automobile that has everything a typical car buyer expects.

I cant wait to see the whole neighborhood gathering around my new Volt, starring with astonishment!

 

[NZDavid]

Welcome deckofficer

Great post. It is great to read someone who is walking the talk.

 

[deckofficer]

Texas,

I've been away for awhile. In answer to your question, the last rig I was on was the Noble Paul Wolf which has (6) 5000 hp electric thrusters. We could generate 32 megawatts of electricity and when enviromental forces were high, we would consume 25,000 gallons of diesel per day.

 

[Texas]

Thanks for the info. deckofficer. I think two of the most important concepts that people fail to take into account when talking about the world's oil situation are the following:

1) As we run out of the easy-to-get sweet crude and go after the hard stuff (deep well, tar sands, shale, CO2 and water injection, etc.) the more energy it takes and that has the effect of reducing the overall value the resulting oil. For example back in the good old days Saudi Arabia only needed the energy equivalent of 1 barrel of oil to produce 100 barrels of beautiful sweet crude. Now, that same 1 barrel of oil produces less than 8 barrels of same quality crude and is only getting worse (with shale for example - this process requires a massive amount of energy). I hope people realize this and how this adds the the cost of goods. Energy cost is a bigger piece of everything.

2) Oil exporting countries are seeing their populations rise very quickly and those people need energy to live. Also, things are going so well with the high prices oil is commanding that the populations expect to get more money so they can get more things that require more energy. A radio and a light bulb might have been good a few decades ago but now they all want to live like the king. Since most of the OPEC countries oil production is not increasing at the same rate as the energy demands of their own population the amount of oil that is available for export goes down. It's like an artificial peak oil situation. The wells may be running flat but the resulting exports continue to decline regardless. Saudi Arabia's population is one of the fastest growing in the world!

 

[jjski78]

And you gotta wonder. Why on Earth would ANYONE want to live in Saudi Arabia??!! I've been there, it pretty much sucks, right along with all of the other middle eastern countries, with the exception of the UAE, that place ROCKS! But I still wouldn't live there, I like seasons, and cool weather.

Welcome aboard deckofficer, and thank you for the insight into the inner workings of big oil and also for reaffirming the fact that my vice commander in chief is a prick.

 

[Kentuckyredneck]

Thought Expression

Why is there always someone on any given forum that has to use offensive language? To me it shows lack of intelligence.

I thought this forum might be the exception...but I guess not.

As the comedians say, "They live among us."

 

[Texas]

Why is there always someone on any given forum that has to use offensive language? To me it shows lack of intelligence.

I thought this forum might be the exception...but I guess not.

As the comedians say, "They live among us."

Actually, one of the smartest guys I ever met would use the F-word in every sentence he spoke. Of course he grew up in a very tough neighborhood and lived in locker rooms but he used offensive language with great passion and effectiveness! lol. After a while I didn't even notice. To me it's all about the way things are said rather than what is actually said. The implied intent, if you will. For example:

Excuse me sir but your enormous head is blocking my sunlight.

See? I didn't use any offensive language but the way I said it would most certainly lead to a fist fight.

 

[jjski78]

If you got offended by the word prick, then you need to grow a pair, and a thicker skin.

Have you been sent to war in Iraq for our President's war for oil?? I have, 3 times, so I think I earned the right to call him whatever I want. There are much stronger words I could have used, but I refrained.

 

[schapman]

What oil are we getting from Iraq?

If you got offended by the word prick, then you need to grow a pair, and a thicker skin.

Have you been sent to war in Iraq for our President's war for oil?? I have, 3 times, so I think I earned the right to call him whatever I want. There are much stronger words I could have used, but I refrained.

 

[Koz]

What oil are we getting from Iraq?

What do you postulate the motivation was? I sure hope we're not there because Saddam put a hit on daddy Bush. Saddam was the biggest enemy of Al Queda in the middle east, after Israel, and he was clearly not a threat to our borders.

 

[&eye]

the motivation is GLOBAL POSITIONING!! We now have a permanent military installation in the Middle East--an embassy/intelligence center the size of the Vatican and a significant permanent military presence on the ground in the region. We basically went in there and conquered a country with no provocation, which of course is totally illegal so we had to be all like "WMDs, blah blah, terrorism, blah blah, al queda, blah blah, they hate our freedoms, blah blah" and then the mainstream liberals are all like "it's the oil!! it's the oil!! bush is the devil and his grandfather was a nazi!!". but the reality is: Al Queda is a CIA and Pakistani ISI asset, islamic radicalist terrorism is manufactured by the western world as a psy-op to give the military the right to do whatever it wants with no resistance from the majority of the population, we already control the oil via our currency and we did not need to declare war to win contracts to update Iraq's oil infrastructure, and we now have a permanent military installation on the ground in Iraq.

 

[deckofficer]

Hi jjski78,

Are you caught up in "stop-loss"? Yes, you have the right to call the prez, VP, Rums, Condi, et all anything you want.

 

[jjski78]

No, thankfully the Air Force has not stop lossed my carreer field, yet. Rumors are swirling though.

 

[dadsx9j]

Actually, one of the smartest guys I ever met would use the F-word in every sentence he spoke. Of course he grew up in a very tough neighborhood and lived in locker rooms but he used offensive language with great passion and effectiveness! lol. After a while I didn't even notice. To me it's all about the way things are said rather than what is actually said. The implied intent, if you will. For example:

Excuse me sir but your enormous head is blocking my sunlight.

See? I didn't use any offensive language but the way I said it would most certainly lead to a fist fight.

Just because that is the "smartest" person you know does not mean you know smart people. Vulgarity just makes a person sound ignorant or lacks creativity. Although I did like your creative reply.

A few thoughts and questions:
As far as electric cars are concerned I like them because of the less maintenance. Cheaper to drive and not supporting these regimes that are hostile to the U.S. and free world societies in general.

The battery technology must improve and it appears it is getting better, addressing longer life and greater capacity (translating to miles driven). As well a recharge kit should be developed that uses renewable energy i.e. solar or wind to generate electricity for charging. I can see the entrepreneurial spirit taking this one and running with it. This would be useful in the home as well.

What about the usage tax for the roads? How does that get paid? The first to get these cars will benefit the most because the tax structure will not have caught up with them yet and they will be driving relatively tax free!