It has been over 160 years since a commercial quantity of ‘rock oil’ was found. Through much of that time, uses for its refined liquids gradually expanded, from lighting to fuel oil to gasoline and the automobile. Gradually petroleum became the energy source of choice, though coal and natural gas were large competitors. During World… Continue reading The Global Implications of Oil Price Renormalization (Part 3)
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The Global Implications of Oil Price Renormalization (Part 2)
Since shortly after 1859, oil has been subject to attempts to control its price, or should I say the price of its refined product, be that kerosene for lighting or, later, gasoline for autos. The first one to try was John D Rockefeller with his development of the Standard Oil Trust in the 1860s and… Continue reading The Global Implications of Oil Price Renormalization (Part 2)
The Global Implications of Oil Price Renormalization (Part 1)
First, we have to understand some of the history and makeup of the commodity. In North America, from time immemorial, the Indians in the Western Allegheny area had skimmed oil seepage off the surface of the water and used it as a medicine. The settlers called it ‘Seneca oil’ after the local tribe and used… Continue reading The Global Implications of Oil Price Renormalization (Part 1)
Democratizing Education
Lawrence Cremin notes that humans receive knowledge about their environment, the world about them, in five main ways. First is through the home, as babies turn into children and then into youths. Until recently, this was probably the sole method of education for most humans. They learned informally from relatives, friends, and others nearby. A… Continue reading Democratizing Education
Billy Durant, Flint Michigan and General Motors
In the late summer of 1886, 25-year old William Crapo Durant was an up-and coming businessman in Flint, Michigan. He was born in Boston, but came with his mother to her family in Flint when a baby. Billy, as he was called when grown, was the grandson of Henry Howland Crapo of New Bedford MA,… Continue reading Billy Durant, Flint Michigan and General Motors
The Big Blue Marble
Robert Goddard was the quintessential Yankee inventor. Born in 1882, he was raised and lived much of his life in Worcester, Massachusetts. Goddard was a sickly boy who fell behind in school and did not graduate until he was twenty-two. Spending lots of time home in bed, he became a voracious reader, and was highly… Continue reading The Big Blue Marble
Wyoming, 1870 – The Accidental First Suffragettes: a Political Breakthrough for Women
Early in 1870, while the Wyoming Governor was away in the East, Edward Lee became the Acting Governor. He, with the legal help of one of the state Supreme Court Justices, appointed three women to vacancies for Territorial Justice of the Peace positions. The terms were shortened in order to put them on a consistent… Continue reading Wyoming, 1870 – The Accidental First Suffragettes: a Political Breakthrough for Women
Just Bubbling Along
In essence, the bubble problem is tied to borrowing, that is, to put it [more or less] in the words of a character in the movie Popeye, "If you lend me money for a hamburger today, I’ll pay you back on Monday". Presumably, there would be an extra charge for taking the risk, called interest.… Continue reading Just Bubbling Along
Why Bother with Russia?
Updated from an earlier version published in May 2017 in factsandopinions.com. Like a lot of people in North America and Europe, I lived through years and years of paying attention to the Soviet Union, and later, Russia. It always seemed to me that this huge country, with the largest land area in the world, and possessor… Continue reading Why Bother with Russia?
About Uncle Sam
There is a famous Army recruiting poster from World War I that shows Uncle Sam in his current ‘look’. He is sternly looking and pointing at the viewer, and the caption below him reads “I Want You For U.S. Army!” Generally, all the representations of Uncle Sam since 1917, and including the one my son… Continue reading About Uncle Sam
Old Professor by the Sea 