Never look back. Have the moxie to “let go of certainties.” Pull the tubing on that old well. Oh, and France wants you.
With March at hand, winter’s all but whipped. All we need to worry about are rains, sleet, flareups of scorching heat, gale force winds, maybe record snow and bitter cold. Hmm. February wasn’t so bad. Maybe going straight from February to April would be an improvement.
France Wants You
We spotted the headline and went straight for it. It said, “France will pay you $5 million to invent an oil drilling drone.” The article described the Argos Challenge, which poses a chance for someone to design an Autonomous Robot for Gas & Oil Sites, whatever that is. At first we thought this was something that motors underground (see the photo we found), but maybe this is something different. You’re pretty much on your own, but there are supposed to be details here: agence-nationale-recherche.fr/ARGOS-Challenge. If you win, please feel free to spread around the largesse, especially to your friends here who inspired you so much.
They Said It:
“What’s good about March? Well, for one thing it keeps February and April apart.” —Walt Kelly
“Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience.” —George Washington
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” —Erich Fromm
“Never look back in this business. If you do, you’ll lose your nerve.” —Robert O. Anderson (1917-2007), founder of ARCO (Atlantic Richfield), now absorbed into BP
“No one should be in this business who isn’t an optimist and who can’t stand hard luck and adversity. No one knows that better than I do.” —Robert O. Anderson
Word of the Month:
WORKOVER: v., to subject to thorough examination, study, or treatment (merriam-webster.com); to beat up or manhandle with thoroughness (e.g., “The gang worked me over”); (Oil and Gas:) operations on a producing well to restore or increase production. Tubing is pulled and the casing at the bottom of the well is pumped or washed free of sand that may have accumulated. (Prodigy Oil and Gas Glossary); the repair or stimulation of an existing production well for the purpose of restoring, prolonging, or enhancing the production of hydrocarbons (Schlumberger Oilfield Glossary).