What's in a Name? plus How Deep is Deep?

You've never heard me speak about the President's birth certificate. Mostly because I think it's a waste of time, but also because even if the birthers have it right, there's not enough time to actually do anything about it. However, I did receive some information today which tickles the curiosity gene.

Apparently when Obama's mother married for the second time, her husband formally adopted him and changed his name to Barry Soetoro. The claim is that truly deep research has not been able to find where he legally changed his name to Barack Obama. The next bit of evidence was an interview when he was being questioned and asked whether he had ever been known by any other name. He said "no." The message included a photo which would lead one to think he might be under oath which would make it perjury. (Since Clinton couldn't be guilty of perjury we couldn't expect that Obama would, but it's a fascinating little anecdote if true.)

And then there's the story of really deep wells. My resource in all things having to do with oil tells me that a 5000 foot deep well is not uncommon. There are wells in the Gulf which are 7000 feet deep with the substructure (my word, not the description of engineers) of 20,000 feet. And world wide there are wells that are 11,000 feet deep that go down 34,000 feet to the bedrock. Lots of interesting stuff including layers of salt, sediment and all the other stuff beneath the ocean.

That geology course from long ago came popping up as well in describing tertiary and sub tertiary layers. Those, as I recall, are tapped after the primary and secondary and the flow needs to be helped along with heat and pressure meaning of course, that it costs more to get the crude up to the surface. A set of slides showing cross sections and comparative well depths, etc. were really interesting. Just that brief bit of information convinces me that the so-called experts the President talked to were probably academics, certainly not the people who work with really deep wells on a daily basis.

Oh, well. He puts more faith in theory and people who film science fiction than in folks who have practical experience. He just never fails to disappoint.

We'll keep plugging along-
God bless...........