Daniel Dessinger

Month: April 2006

  • Drilling for Oil in the 21st Century

    In the 1950s, drilling for hydrocarbons using traditional methods carried a 50/50 risk, and even “successful” wells (oil or gas found) were often commercially impractical. That reality has changed over the past twenty years. Advancements in technology and geophysical studies have transformed soft speculation into real, hard science. The U.S. Department of Energy describes the recent triumphs of the oil and gas industry as “logic defying.” It’s not just about drilling fewer dry holes. New methods are extending the life of wells, allowing more reserves to be extracted and boosting economic returns. As a result, much broader group of investors now has access to oil and gas as a viable investment option. I asked Bret L. Boteler, President of EnerMax Inc., to help me understand some of the principal changes in today’s oil and gas industry. Â

    Since many of us know very little about the industry, I asked him to start simple and work towards the more complex. Bret Boteler began by defining his company’s business for me in layman’s terms: “If someone asked me what we do, I’d say we’re a joint venture manager. We put together joint ventures that develop, drill, and manage oil and gas drilling programs.”Â

    Bret Boteler began EnerMax out of his home office in 2001. Five years later, Mr. Boteler and EnerMax occupy over 3,400 square feet of office space where he enjoys the company of seven employees. Last year marked the fourth straight year that Bret L. Boteler’s company has earned 50+% annual gains. Mr. Boteler attributes EnerMax’s substantial growth and success to two things: his talented, reliable staff and their use of modern technology.

    Mr. Boteler described for me the significant role that today’s technology plays and the advantages won over methods twenty years ago. EnerMax Inc. participates in drilling wells discovered by reprocessed 3-D seismic data – a revolution in the drilling business. Companies that choose drill sites based on reprocessed 3-D seismic data are 75-80% accurate on average, as opposed to the 50-55% accuracy rate of older, two-dimensional data that has not been reprocessed. And according to Boteler, the majority of small, independent oil and natural gas companies still use the old-style data, thus falling under the 55% shadow.

    These technologies also allow exploration companies to more accurately assess potential reserves, helping them select projects that fit a favorable risk/reward profile. Some of the best projects identified would have been condemned only a few years ago due to accessibility barriers. However, advanced drilling techniques in use today, such as horizontal drilling, are penetrating zones that were previously considered unreachable. For example, EnerMax is scheduled to drill a well this summer in a suburban neighborhood in Tarrant County, Texas, where they plan to drill in the prolific Barnett Shale to a depth of 6,500 vertical feet and 2,400 horizontal feet. The 2,400 horizontal leg will extend underneath nearby homes, allowing EnerMax to penetrate their target zone while leaving the neighborhood undisturbed. EnerMax will apply advanced frac and completion procedures to ensure the maximum recovery of hydrocarbons.Â

    Technological advantages require significant financial resources. In 2004, EnerMax entered into an agreement with American Energy Partners, Inc. (AEPI) to join them in their efforts to reprocess 3-D data concentrated primarily along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. Because unprocessed 3-D seismic information can contain shadows and misleading images caused by equipment during the original recording, it is necessary to filter the data for clearer results. Geotrace Technologies, Inc., an industry leader in imaging and analyzing subsurface data, has been selected to reprocess the data using advanced analysis techniques such as High Frequency Imaging (HFI®), Frequency Absorption Response (FAR), and Amplitude versus Offset Analysis (AVO). Even though the reprocessing carries a significant price tag, it is well worth the price when you consider the 20-30% increased success rate.Â

    When I asked Mr. Boteler about difficulties facing the industry today, he told me that one of the main issues is rig availability. Recent hurricanes and tropical storms damaged drilling rigs and oil refineries along the southern coast. The resulting reduction of oil and gas production in the United States heightened the disparity between supply and demand. Oil and gas companies are pushing to drill more wells while commodities are high, so there are times when a few months pass while waiting for a rig to drill your well. Yet in the light of the uncertainties oilmen faced in decades past, Bret Boteler counts himself and his company very blessed.Â

  • House versus God

    This week’s episode of House MD pitted Dr. House against God or, to be more precise, the idea that God speaks and interacts with people. It is a topic very near and dear to my heart, and kept me on pins and needles, waiting to see how they would make the Christian look. As expected, the Christian is discounted as a liar and a fake. The Christian is Boyd, a fifteen year old boy who hears from God and heals people by laying his hands on them.

    During the middle of a church service (did anyone else notice how ugly and backwoods most of the church members looked?), Boyd’s hands clench, he doubles over, and falls down. His father rushes him to the hospital. House’s staff diagnose the boy with Tubular Sclerosis. Several small tumors in his brain are credited with causing the symptoms mistaken for spirituality. Chase is the only one on House’s staff who thinks there is even the slightest possibility that the boy isn’t lying or delusional. But it is House himself who throws a childish tantrum when the boy’s revelations from God continually hit the mark.

    The final straw is when Boyd lays his hands on a female cancer patient in the hospital, tells her that God has heard every prayer, and claims that she is healed. House goes on the warpath to prove that the woman isn’t healed in order to discredit the teenage faith healer. Funny what can set him off into such an angry mood, isn’t it? Though the plots for this show are decidedly secular, the writers leave room in this episode for at least the unlikely possibility that God speaks to people. Of course, this is as far as they are willing to go. So we are left with a non-committal declaration by Dr. Wilson, who tells House that a belief isn’t disproved simply because a person cannot live up to it. I am left wondering if this is a positive statement or not.

    The boy has a virus that attacks cancer cells, which he manages to spread to the girl he had laid hands on in the hospital. She had experienced at least brief remission due to the virus she had caught from the believer. Note the comment made about the chances of the boy having just the right virus to attack just the right type of cancer cells. The odds were ridiculously small. House finds it difficult to believe that God would use one disease or illness to deal with another. The boy responds by saying that God does not violate the laws of His universe – that it is not so strange that He would use various existing biological elements to carry out what otherwise would be impossible. It is an interesting thought.

    I read something similar in The Elijah Task by John and Paula Sandford. In discussing the miraculous/supernatural, the Sandfords state their personal belief that God does not violate the natural laws He created. To violate something good and pure could be equated to fraud or violating the innocence of a child – unthinkable. God loves everything He created. Regardless of the fine details which we struggle in vain to understand, I can see how the supernatural is only supernatural in that God acted in a natural way which we cannot presently understand. We did not write the laws of nature. We do not fully understand them all, either. Imagine: not too long ago, we thought that the molecule was the smallest measurable unit. Then came the atom, with protons, electrons, and neutrons. Then came quarks. Scientists may have found something even smaller by now.

    One thing we have learned is that everything, including solids, liquids, and gases, is made up of energy. If even the most solid looking surface known to man is truly made up of energy, moving mountains isn’t such a stretch of the imagination. We see the manifestation of a LOT of energy particles, but to move any amount of already moving parts from one place to another is not really so unthinkable if one only knows how. Food for thought…

  • Thoughts on Einstein and Russell

    It was some time between the end of my sophomore and junior year in college that I discovered how basic philosophy really is. I started off by reading Confessions by Augustine who, though not known primarily as a philosopher, asked some of the same probing questions of existence and self that I had mulled over for years.

    Augustine led me to Kant. Kant led me to Descartes. Descartes led me to Plato. Plato led me to Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard somehow drop-kicked me into Derrida. Derrida confused me until I retreated to Ellul. Ellul was kind of cozy. Hiedegger, Sartre, and Nietzsche were tiny blips on the radar which I barely took the time to notice. Hegel, Spinoza, Locke, and Hume are still total strangers to me, honestly.

    Mostly, I lost my zeal and interest. I had accomplished my goal. Philosophy is not too deep for me. They just use words that were not part of my vocabulary to represent the same ideas, thoughts, and questions which I already have. Every now and then, I pick up one of my unfinished books and give it a whirl. I usually make it through about three pages. Then I’m back to reading Robert Jordan, the Bible, or a novel.

    The challenge in reading philosophy isn’t comprehending some complex set of possibilities. The challenge is to read enough to learn the language. Learning the language is key. I found myself reading a collection of writings from Albert Einstein recently. He has this mythical importance, probably linked to the great quality of the sound of his name. How perfect for the genius everyone references to have a rhyming last name. It’s so absolutely easy to remember. He wasn’t just a great name and a cute face, though. I discovered that he was extremely insightful – not very prophetic, at times, but insightful regarding the day in which he lived. It is strange to read his thoughts on Bertrand Russell’s theory of knowledge. I never thought of Einstein as a philosophical man before. He was always this little weird looking guy who stood in front of a chalkboard writing mathematical/scientific equations.

    Shows how much I know. Einstein had some fairly optimistic expectations of our society which regrettably appear to have been mere pipe dreams. As technology and industry surged ahead at a record breaking pace, people were able to rest from some of the most demanding labors. Machines took our place. Einstein predicted, or at least hoped, that such advancements would allow us the opportunity to reflect and to become better people.

    “This security and the spare time and energy which the individual will have at his disposal can be turned to the development of his personality. In this way the community may regain its health, and we will hope that future historians will explain the morbid symptoms of present-day society as the childhood ailments of an aspiring humanity, due entirely to the excessive speed at which civilization was advancing.”

    I suppose it is still possible that Einstein’s hopes were accurate, but I doubt it. It is true that the speed of advancement has never slowed. From trains, planes, and automobiles to televisions, rockets, and microwaves to computers, microchips, and internet to nanobots, dna cloning, and RFID transmitters – we have never allowed ourselves the luxury of rest. We have never taken the time to pause, reflect, and regain our health.

    I seem to always be writing a critique of something. How unfair that I find fault in so many places. It saddens me to discover a man so brilliant as Albert Einstein and so unrealistically hopeful. How does a man who knows so much know so little? In many ways, he was a shining star, a tool of the Lord used to unravel a mystery or two from his countless wonders.

    Einstein made me stop and think. No one fits within the confines of stereotypes. He was more and also less than people gave him credit for. I am grateful to learn about people like him. It is my sincere hope to someday contribute something unique to this world that justifies the length of my existence.

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  • MySpace Takes over Social Networking

    It’s official: MySpace is taking over the planet. Don’t look at me with that blank stare. You have to have known already it was true. The signs are all there. First off, I joined, and you know I don’t know about something until millions are already tired of it. Second, my mom joined (though she never uses it). Third, I am seeing almost as many parents of my friends on MySpace as I see friends my age. Fourth, pastors, pastors’ wives, elders, and other church leaders are joining up and taking advantage of MySpace’s networking power. It’s scary.

    MySpace is like the Google of networking. They have the information available to them to help companies market more effectively to millions of Americans. I don’t know if they use this information for marketing yet, but they have a unique collection of people’s preferences, likes, dislikes, ideas, photos, connections. If you want to do a sociological study, log in to MySpace. You have nearly 73 million people at your disposal to examine. There are some serious implications here. If everyone starts using MySpace, it will take over the need for personal email accounts.

    Naturally, business email would still be used, but why have a dozen email address when you can go to MySpace and see your friends while you write to them? Mark my words: you may not hear about it tomorrow or next week, but you will eventually hear about how MySpace has used your personal MySpace info to assist someone in their quest to sell you stuff. Does that mean I’m going to drop out of MySpace again? Heck no. At least, not for now.

    But if someone would PLEASE, PLEASE change the stupid advertising that I see everytime I log in, I would be extremely grateful! I’m married! I don’t need to see some stupid ad for dating services with provocative women. If they’re so good at targeted marketing, why don’t they realize that I am married and only post ads on my page that apply to me?

  • SEO Tips Part One

    Search Engine Optimization is a ballooning industry. There's no doubt about that. Every business needs to ensure that their website and other online marketing efforts function as effectively as possible. So many entrepreneurs have seen visions of the tidal wave of money to be made in the industry, and they jumped right in although they can barely dog-paddle. You can learn the same basic info that most SEO firms will tell you just by searching for "SEO tips" on Google.

    Many of them are afraid to let you know that because they want to be viewed as professionals with insider information that can only be gained through years of experience. The only time that seems to be actually true is when using PERL script or other back end programming and development. Obviously, a programmer has skills that not everyone has. But SEO principles are not specialized, and they do not require someone with five or more years of experience to understand. Having said that, you are more than likely better off hiring an SEO firm to do the work for you. No, I'm not sending mixed signals here. You need to be aware of the smooth talk and the BS some of them will use to impress you, but you probably still need someone's help to do the actual work. That is, unless you are willing to hire someone on full-time to do it for you.

    After many conversations with many "experts", I have noticed two vital tools missing from nearly everyone's approach. If I may be blunt, they are missing because the SEO firms aren't true marketing firms and are too young to understand how to truly win long-term repeat business. TWO THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW TO SUCCEED WITH SEO There are two things you need to know to succeed: you must know the customer and you must know the search engines.

    You cannot complete a successful SEO campaign if you have not taken the time to know your target audience. It is sickening how many companies spout cliches like "find your target audience" without actually helping you find them. What might be even worse is that SEO experts have all read or spoken about the importance of inbound links for good rankings, yet so many of them never incorporate linking strategies for their clients.

    A successful marketing company researches the client's target audience until they know who they are, what they want, how they speak, and what they respond to. If your SEO service provider doesn't know that much detail about your customers, how do they know which keywords your customers will use to search with on Google or Yahoo? Exactly – they don't. Sure, keyword research tools exist to provide a list of related phrases which are extremely popular, but are they the phrases people will use when looking to buy? It's more involved than simply pressing a few buttons and letting a computer program shoot out some answers.

    Why are these crucial elements missing? Because SEO firms don't believe you will spend the money to do a search engine optimization campaign the right way. Because most of their clients know very little about SEO, the firms cut out necessary elements to lower the price and gain clients.

    THE COST OF NEGLECT
    The unfortunate side effect is a half-brained campaign. No matter what they have done, Google will continue to shun your website as an authority because you lack the appropriate inbound links. To add to your future frustration, you will eventually realize that even though your traffic has increased even significantly, your conversion rate has not increased at the same rate. This is, of course, due to the fact that although your SEO firm drew more people to your site, they were not the right people.

    The truth is that 98% of the time you get what you pay for. If you are large enough to pay for conventional marketing and advertising, you probably don't skimp on the details. SEO is still a relatively new industry and the experts are still relatively insecure about their status. They may be willing to compromise to land a client. You do not want this. Why spend any money at all for the wrong thing or a poor quality thing? You might as well save your money or spend it elsewhere.

    Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Somebody famous said that. They were right. Don't waste your time or money on a half-hearted service. Ask questions. Get involved. Insist on well-laid plans and ideas, just like you would for a commercial spot during the Super Bowl. Everyone wants results yesterday, and almost no one wants to wait. But quality comes from thorough research and planning. Don't compromise the quality of your business.Daniel Dessinger provides writing services including: SEO, interactive press releases, website copy, articles, creative ads, copy editing, and consulting. Visit him on the web at http://www.culturefeast.com.

  • is it true?

    is it true you turn into something other than what I’ve known? is it true you become something new?

    is it true you’ll never be the same again? is it true you’ll become something beautiful?

    is it true you’ll forget the filth you leave behind? is it true? does everyone get to become new?

    i smell it in the air. Springtime holds Life’s magic energy. i feel it on my skin. the cool breeze mixing with a gentle sun.

    i hear it in your voice. you only sound like that when in love.

    it is true. everything can begin anew.

    will i recognize the me that i become? will i ever be as beautiful as you?

    will i play out there in the sun again? will i know to breathe the air?

    i feel it in the shadows surrounding rays of light. change is something fearful.

    i hear it in the whimper of some disappointed bird. i taste it on the tip of my tongue.

    it is true. i do not know what i will become.

  • To Write or Not to Write

    Once upon a time, I thought, If only I could just have the time to write, I would start a book and complete it in my spare time. Of course, that book remains unwritten. The spare time remains unused. Something always manages to fill the gaps of time. Next, I thought, If only I could get a job as a junior writer somewhere I could work my way up to the big leagues. That was before I realized there are no big leagues.

    Sure, there are lots of people making great money and getting great exposure, but most of them did so by writing on topics I have no interest in. People writing advertisements for IBM, Apple, Frito Lay, Microsoft, General Motors, Toshiba, and Dr. Pepper (my personal favorite). People writing legal suspense, murder mystery, romance, and horror novels. People writing academic texts which challenge the current state of belief and understanding. People writing self-help books which, oddly, should remain very few and far between if they indeed were such a great self-help tool. People writing Christian Inspirational literature, who, pardon my saying so, are either severely deceived into believing that this is what Christians need or are the bottom feeders of the industry. There are news reporters and editorial writers. Apples and oranges, man… apples and oranges.

    There are so many different things a person could write about. So many ideas floating about in space, awaiting someone to capture them and flesh them out on paper. So many jobs for so many writers in so many industries. How is a writer to know where to tread and where not? At the heart of it all lies a question. It is the same question each person must answer, regardless of profession, but I shall put it into terms a writer will understand.

    The question is: What is inside of me that demands release? How do I express it? Do I dedicate my life to locating, clarifying, and expressing this one thing, or do I use my talent for other purposes along the way? Would I be soiling the gift which God gave me, or would I be praised as a good steward for developing the gift? Okay, perhaps a few questions must be answered. But they all revolve around a central question: What is my purpose?

    Answering that question leads to the next question: How do I fulfill my purpose? Answering those two questions may take an entire lifetime. They are questions worth asking. They are questions worth answering. Too often, we rush off into the world and bump into each decision accidentally. We have somehow decided life consist of a series of coincidences and accidents, when really we have simply missed the opportunity to ask the right questions and wait for the answers. Some people live their whole lives refusing to even ask the first question. Something deep down tells them that open that can of worms would only mean a lifetime of misery and disappointment. I am a writer. I write. Again and again, I ask these questions, and I must have my answers.

  • Special Moments in Marriage

    There are simple joys to marriage that I didn’t count on. They are pleasant surprises, especially since there are common difficulties that I didn’t count on either. My wife and I do not have children yet, so we are still in this quasi-newlywed phase. No, we’re not gooey in public like some newlyweds. But there are times when it just feels great to be a married adult.

    Believe it or not, one of my favorite moments is in church. Heather and I have a special bond when we are in a worship service. She frequently leans her head to rest on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and lean my head a little until it rests against hers. A community of worshippers brings such peace to the surrounding atmosphere that it is the perfect place to find a moment’s rest and truly exhale from the soul. Unexpectedly, we have been approached by women who tell us their teenage daughters watch the way Heather and I express affection in church and those girls delight in it and hope to experience the same some day.

    Friday nights have a whole new meaning to me. Friday nights have always been my absolute favorite time of the week. It is the time furthest from the work week, which means there is no stress of certain responsibilities pressing upon me. Friday night was always my movie night.

    Outside of Siskel, Roeper, and a few other psychopaths out there, I don’t know of anyone who watches more movies than me. That has changed somewhat – I watch most new films at the Dollar Movie Theater three to six months after release so I can save money. I check out older movies from the public library for free instead of visiting Hollywood Video Store on a biweekly basis. I’ve gotten sidetracked, but my point was about Friday nights.

    I love spending the evening with my wife, whether it’s watching tv, going out to a restaurant, or spending the evening at home just focusing on each other. There is something so much more carefree about it than I can imagine my parents experiencing when they were my age. That is what this all boils down to. I think about my parents a lot lately. Partly because my wife and I are just about ready to have children. Regardless, I find myself unconsciously comparing my marriage with what I know of my parents as far back as I can remember. Of course, if I can remember it, that means they already had children. So there are some obvious and unavoidable differences.

    The world was more peaceful even 20 years ago. But I wonder how much differently I feel than my father felt at my age. I wonder how much different was their marriage from mine. I wonder if we are doing as well, better, or worse. Not because I need to win anything, but because comparison is one of the primary ways we mark progress.

    At this time of our lives, where I work mostly from home and my wife drives to work, I love kissing her goodbye each day and loving the fact that she’s only a short 8-10 minute drive away from home. I love seeing her every day for lunch. I love being silly and goofing off around her – especially at those miraculous times when she thinks I’m funny. I love the light-hearted side of marriage so much. In fact, I think it must be more vital than I realized. Just thinking of funny and silly moments lifts my spirits and my heart feels lighter. Heather, if you’re reading this, I think I’m going to be even sillier.