The Kiplinger Letter - July 31, 2009 Lots of interesting stuff...
ENERGY: North Dakota as an oil patch state? Yes, probably in a decade or less. The state's Three Forks-Spanish formation could rival nearby Bakken Play, a vast oil shale field. Together they could provide the equivalent of 30 years' worth of U.S. oil needs. Oil companies are already scurrying to stake claims to the bonanza. New drilling and recovery technologies make the field ripe for production. They sit a mile beneath the surface, and until recently were mostly inaccessible. Though drilling has begun, commercial production at Three Forks is five years away. SCIENCE: [I don't know why the following was listed under this topic - SVJ] Expect trouble with GPS. Several of the 31 global positioning satellites are old and may soon fail, and the U.S. is falling behind in replacing them. The system is critical to the military and to millions of commercial and civilian users who rely on it for navigation, mapping and a variety of telecom services. About one-third of the satellites are almost 20 years old and undependable. Gaps will mean spotty or dropped coverage. The military always get first dibs. Its navigation gear, guided missiles and smart bombs can't operate without GPS. BUSINESS TECH: In four or five years, your cell will replace your office computer and phone. At work, you'll connect a phone to a monitor and keyboard, using the same computer for work and home. Office and personal calls will be channeled to the same device. Customers will think you're at work when you're really at the beach or golf course. -- Regards, Steven Vincnet Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
