On an oil related topic, my niece's husband is visiting Kern County from Texas. He works for an energy related company.  He tells me about an experimental program in phases that uses steam to inject in depleted fields in Kern County in the hope that it will yield increased production.  The program is in the early stages and is expected to take up to at least 5 years before real results are seen.  I know little about the specifics, but it sounds like its quite labor and water intensive.  Not sure where they will get all of the necesary water here in So Cal for all the steam??  

This has been the first World Cup I have really paid attention to. Every game is televised here, and when the Costa Rican team played, many schools and most businesses closed or didn't open till after the game. Those that didn't, brought in TVs. Pity they played so badly, though the loss to Germany was at least a good game.

Kind of nice to be able to take my mind off of peak oil, climate change, Iraq and other endless resource wars, the incompetent/corrupt government in the US, the looming US economic collapse, and all the other doomer stuff for a few weeks. It has been a refreshing vacation. Soccer will survive post peak. It's the people's game. All it takes to play is a ball and a field.

Johns in Costa Rica