A Blog
– Part Four of a Series: The (Artificial) Human Element – “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” ~ Socrates “A.I. will not replace humans, but those who use A.I. will replace those who don’t.” ~ Ginni Rometty, Former CEO of IBM “The real problem with humanity is the following: We have paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.” ~ E.O. […]
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– Part Three of a Series: Public Sentiment, Politics, and Government Regulations – “Public sentiment is everything; with it nothing can fail, without it nothing can succeed.”~ Abraham Lincoln “The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”~ William Arthur Ward “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”~ Thomas Paine in Common Sense Author’s Note: This […]
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– Part Two of a Series: Complex versus Repetitive Projects – “Predicting rain doesn’t count. Building arks does.” ~ Warren Buffett Author’s Note: This post will serve as the second of several related blog posts on this topic. This post is meant to examine the notion that some projects are complex and singular in nature while some enjoy repetitive design elements that lend themselves to a more rapid and universal implementation. […]
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– Part One of a Series – “Restlessness is discontent, and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure.” ~ Thomas A. Edison “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” ~ Henry Ford Author’s Note: This post will serve as the first of several related blog posts on this topic. This first post is meant to introduce […]
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“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” ~ President Ronald Reagan The stated purpose of this blog is to consider any and all interesting and impactful subjects that impact the land and those who seek to identify, acquire, and develop it. This discussion will be no different. A few years ago, my wife was presenting at a conference in Washington DC over the Memorial Day weekend […]
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“There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” ~ Alfred Henry Lewis “Keeping America competitive requires affordable energy.” ~ President George W. Bush The United States is a big place. In total there are approximately 1.9 billion acres of land within the borders of the nation and that would seem like plenty of space to allow all endeavors room to site and develop their projects without ever coming into competition. If you […]
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“There’s a way to do it better – find it.” ~ Thomas A. Edison “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” ~ Buckminster Fuller There are many approaches that one could conceivably take when considering this topic. Technology is always advancing, and it seems over time that the rate of advancement increases exponentially. There is not a field […]
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“We herd sheep. We drive cattle. We lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.” ~ Gen. George Patton “Whoever thinks that the European economy can be competitive without economic cooperation with Russia, whoever thinks that energy security can exist in Europe without energy that comes from Russia is chasing ghosts.” ~ Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary “First, we have to find a common vocabulary for energy security. This notion […]
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“This above all; to thine own self be true.” ~ William Shakespeare in Hamlet “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson I am not, to be sure, a fan of corporate team building exercises – at least forced team building exercises. Groups of individuals come together to accomplish joint ventures in two basic scenarios: long term […]
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“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV) “They say timing is everything. But then they say, there is never a perfect time for anything.” – Anthony Liccione There are a multitude of factors that can affect a land acquisition. How well funded is the acquirer? Are those funds readily available or is the acquirer forced to request those funds […]
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“What’s past is prologue.” – William Shakespeare, The Tempest A sequential enterprise will often have many phases and stages throughout its life cycle prior to achieving its stated aims. Each of these phases are important because without successfully completing each the project would either suffer a diminution of value or productivity or fail altogether. When working in a sequential system the order in which tasks are performed and completed is very important. […]
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“It Is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” – Charles Darwin A few years ago, I was a volunteer helping to run an oil & gas industry clay shoot. The participants were landmen and their invited guests. The guests were a mix of reservoir engineers, geologists, business development specialists, and executives all from oil & gas companies. My station was close […]
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“I’m too old for this… [well… you know].” – Roger Murtaugh “More isn’t necessarily better Linus. Sometimes it’s just… more” – Sabrina Fairchild Everyone wants options in life. No one wants to be forced into a given course of action by circumstances beyond their control. The same is true for landowners. A tract of land, whether it is the family farm, a multi-generation ranch, or an investment property bought in the hopes […]
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“I sell here, Sir, what all the world desires to have – power” Matthew Boulton This will be a discussion about the increasing electricity demands made by A.I. initiatives, their associated data centers, and the tremendous land requirements these will require, but we will take a circuitous route to get there – no pun intended (maybe a slight pun intended). In ancient Rome, the god Janus presided […]
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“To lose patience is to lose the battle”– Mahatma Gandhi “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” – A.A. Milne There is no shortage of good quotes concerning the twin notions of patience and perseverance and if you are a land developer trying to navigate an electric utility’s interconnection queue process, you will have plenty of time to familiarize yourself with many of them. A renewable energy […]
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All comes back to the land value, and its owner for the time being is able to levy his toll upon all other forms of wealth and upon every form of industry. – Winston Churchill I always tell my son if you follow the money, you will usually find your answer. I know that’s not the most uplifting of messages, but it is amazing how often it ends in a correct answer. […]
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“You’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”– Obi-Wan Kenobi If this blog achieves any purpose, I would hope it demonstrates that there are multiple different points of view inherent in every situation and when handled appropriately this can make both the process and the outcome better. This is nothing new. As the centuries pass, we forget that there have always been differing […]
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“These 900 acres are my life, the same ground worked for generations by my family in goodfaith that if we obeyed the law, our government would treat us accordingly.”– Ritchie Devillier We live in a nation where the right of the individual to own property is enshrined and protected in our most basic, primary, and foundational law – the United States Constitution. The drafters of that document believed that certain rights were […]
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Every spirit builds itself a house; and beyond its house a world; and beyond its world, a heaven. Know, then, that the world exists for you. For you is the phenomenon perfect. What we are, that only we can see. All that Adam had, all that Caesar could, you have and can do. Adam called his house, heaven and earth; Caesar called his house, Rome; you perhaps call yours, a Cobbler’s trade; a hundred acres […]
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“Geography blended with time equals destiny.” – Joseph Brodsky Humans are visual beings. We understand and take in the world primarily by what we can see. Many memories are recorded as either photographs or videos, but a visual recollection regardless. Many popular aphorisms are rooted in the notion that what […]
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