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Libertad's Journal

libertad
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06/03/2010 13:45 #51789

You're only 30?!
I was telling somebody about me and (e:brit)'s 30th birthday party tomorrow and I thought he said to me "You're only 30?!" I was so mad until Mike told me that he said "Really, you're 30?!" Big difference. I could care less about getting older as long as I don't look older than my real age.

So party tomorrow 24 Linwood. I'm making my bean dip and cowboy caviar. Mike is making chicken wing dip too. Bring your friends because (e:brit) and I don't have any of our own.

I think (e:brit)'s birthday really is tomorrow but I could be wrong.
enknot - 06/10/10 10:44
Yeah unless you wanna buy beer!

Oh wait, um or plutonium! (what can only 40 year old buy?)

Ooh, or depends! This isn't working like I wanted it to...

brit - 06/06/10 02:50
thanks for organizing Dave and Mike - had a great time and I will always be back to sleep on your futon! x
lilho - 06/05/10 09:48
I'm pretty surprised you're 30 you look young so I guess I was always thinking 25... Anyway for men aging is sexy.
libertad - 06/03/10 19:59
My real birth date is the 12th. I think you're right (e:matthew), (e:brit)'s birthday is the 7th, she is five days older than I am. Hopefully she will come and visit often. She would always be welcome on my futon!
heidi - 06/03/10 17:21
Happy birthday, (e:Libertad)! Mine was Monday 5/31 :-) I hope to stop by the 24 on Friday, but I may be rather late.
metalpeter - 06/03/10 17:21
I love trying dip. Oh yeah Happy Birthday. I wish I was good at making stuff cause I would love to like make something. It will be a good time, I just hope I don't over do it, been super stressed out but that is a post of my own. I Remember the last 30th Party I went to was amazing it was also known as "The Tony Is old Party" that was pretty good. I'm sure this one will be a fun time also.
matthew - 06/03/10 14:01
Fun times ahead! (E:brit)'s birthday is actually on Monday the 7th, I believe.

05/31/2010 21:24 #51769

Squaw Island drowning
This story is so sad. I see the kids playing in this water all the time. I never imagined that this would happen in this pond because the water seems so calm.

Buffalo teen drowns on Squaw Island
May 31, 2010, 6:57 pm / 2 comments


A 16-year-old Buffalo boy drowned this afternoon while swimming in a pond on Squaw Island, Buffalo police reported.

The teen, whose identity wasn't released, was swimming in a freshwater pond on the island with a few friends between 3 and 3:30 p.m. when he began to struggle and went under, said Michael J. DeGeorge, a Buffalo Police spokesman.

The friends went to call for help, and the Buffalo Police Underwater Recovery Team soon arrived on the island, located at the foot of West Ferry Street in the Niagara River.

Police divers were able to find the boy and he was taken to Women and Children's Hospital, where he died, DeGeorge said.

The drowning remains under investigation, and police divers reported that the pond does have a current, DeGeorge added.



Here are some pics of kids playing in the pond last year.



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jenks - 06/02/10 16:17
Instead of 'no swimming' and patrols, how about 'warning: current. Swim at your own risk'.
Ugh.

I mean it's awful that a kid drowned. But to now say no one is ever allowed to swim again is NOT an appropriate reaction.
libertad - 06/02/10 13:31
Yes, they are swimming there on the Island. The pictures I posted is where the boy died on memorial day. Yesterday family and friends gathered at the spot. You could hear them weeping. I guess he tried to save his friend who was struggling and in the process went under.

People now are asking that no swimming signs be posted and that the island be frequented by patrols. I feel that there aren't really any good options for kids to swim and that there is always a risk. I grew up on Long Island and went to the beach all the time where there is a much deadlier current. People drown there all the time but they don't close it down. Technically it is illegal to swim anywhere there isn't a life guard in Buffalo which I would assume rules out swimming just about everywhere.
paul - 06/01/10 17:03
Are those people swimming there on that island? I would have never thought about going in the water there and I am pretty open to open water.

05/28/2010 21:28 #51750

Partay at the 24!!!
(e:libertad) and (e:brit) are turning 30 together and we want you all to celebrate it with us at the 24. Next Friday at 9pm. I hear (e:southernyankee) will be in town which will be super awesome. It is also the big gay weekend.

Much thanks for the generous hosts. Thanks guys!!!!!!



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metalpeter - 05/29/10 18:18
Friday Night should be a good time. Then the Parade is Sunday so It isn't like I would have stumble out of the 24 and head down to Elmwood. Now I just have to figure out what kind of alcohol to bring. Oh yeah it is early but Happy Birthday to the both of you.......

05/28/2010 17:00 #51746

Get out there and suck that shit up!
I don't want to hear from Obama that they are doing all they can when they haven't deployed supertankers to come and suck the massive oil plumes up. I don't care how much money it costs. This is way more important than any of our stupid wars. I want this mess cleaned up, we can bill BP for it later, just fucking do it!


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Former Shell Oil Chief, Engineer: Supertankers Could Save the Gulf, So Why Won't BP Listen?
BY Ariel SchwartzThu May 13, 2010
John Hofmeister and Nick Pozzi tell Fast Company how a possible solution to the Gulf Oil spill is sitting under BP's nose.

supertanker

Underwater robots, containment domes, top hats, hot taps, junk shots ... the potential fixes to the Gulf Oil Spill sound like they come straight from a cringeworthy disaster flick (or a PR think tank). But what if the solution is right under our noses? What if it's already sitting in the Gulf? John Hofmeister, the former president of Shell Oil, and Nick Pozzi, a former pipeline engineering and operations project manager for Saudi Aramco, think it might be.

According to Hofmeister, oil supertankers could be used to suck up massive amounts of oil--possibly millions of barrels at a time.

In an interview with FastCompany.com, Hofmeister explained that a little-known Saudi oil spill from an offshore platform in the early 1990s dumped more crude into the sea than any spill in U.S. history (think hundreds of millions of gallons). But the government and local press kept it quiet. And that's why one of the big fixes in the Saudi oil spill--the oil-skimming supertanker--hasn't been publicized.

"[They] figured out how to deploy supertankers that had the ability to both intake and discharge liquids in vast quantities with huge pumps," Hofmeister explained. "The supertankers could simply suck in seawater and oil simultaneously--they can hold millions of barrels--and when full, they could discharge oil at a port into tanks where they could separate oil from water. The idea is novel in that you can get massive of oil amounts quickly." Once the supertankers make it to to the port, water can be treated and discharged, and oil can either be used or destroyed.

Pozzi saw the technique used in the Middle East, where it recovered 85% of the oil from the Saudi spill. And he thinks it could work in the Gulf of Mexico. "The only downside is that you tie up oil tankers. That's why we think that BP won't listen to us. They don't want to spend that extra money."

After learning about the supertanker technique a few weeks ago, Hofmeister decided to bring it to the government's attention. "I've been trying to connect engineers with decision-makers at the Coast Guard and in the interior department," he said.

Pozzi and his business partner Jon King have also tried to contact officials, with no luck. "I called the President of BP, got his secretary and then got a call from a lady inside the building we were standing outside of. We never really heard back from her. Nick also knew some people and got one of the men in charge of the spill. He threatened to sue Nick for not going through channels," King said.

But even if BP and the government both approve the technique, it will take a while before it can be implemented. "A lot of these supertankers are sitting on the ocean full of oil. How do you get them empty? It may take some time to organize," Hofmeister explained. And, of course, organizers will have to make sure that the supertankers don't crash into each other. All the more reason to get started now.

BP would be wise to listen to Pozzi, who has 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. "It's what you can't see that's going to hurt you for years to come. What you see now is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

Hofmeister, however, has confidence in the oil spill cleanup effort. "There are 13,000 people organized and engaged at cleaning up this spill. It's kind of remarkable to put that kind of task force together in this kind of time frame," he said. "I think there are very smart people managing this process."

Speaking of that process, BP's latest video as been released, and it shows the failed attempt to lower the cofferdam over the gushing well. Remember, this thing is 98 tons and 40 feet tall. Puts that spewing pipe in perspective.


libertad - 05/28/10 21:39
I was a little angry when I wrote this. Actually, I was really angry, and I still am, but it feels better than the depression I have been suffering from about this. I even contemplated getting anti-depressants but then I just realized that I should be feeling this way. It is like the wife who just lost her husband and the doctor writes a prescription for prozac or whatever it is they are prescribing now. Sometimes we should feel sad but this has probably been the longest I have felt this way. Even when I'm appearing to be having fun or it appears that I am happy I'm usually just sad inside. Anyways, it is nice to have the anger instead of the sadness.
vincent - 05/28/10 20:13
Well Said x3

uncutsaniflush - 05/28/10 18:44
I concur both with your post and the (e:mrmike) assessment of it.
mrmike - 05/28/10 18:10
Well said

05/27/2010 22:16 #51740

We need to stop calling it a spill
This is not a spill. A spill is when you knock over a glass of milk. I wish this was just a spill but it is not. A spill has limits and as we can clearly see this oil well DISASTER does not.



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I lifted these off of flickr. Sorry not to give credit to appropriate people.
enknot - 05/28/10 03:19
these need to go as many places as possible. I think the "authors" would appreciate the free distro as much as the view should appreciate the informative unfiltered truth they provide.