Wall insulation and progress

I rode my brother's bicycle over to visit my friend Rod this afternoon. He was finishing up adding insulation to his house's walls. He had drilled holes into each stud cavity - many holes - and then blew in cellulose insulation into the walls. Or to paraphrase Rod, 'He was blowing money into his house' as he expects - rightly so - to save lots on energy costs this winter. Prior to his work Rod's house walls barely had any insulation in its walls.

Because the house walls has a fire wall dividing the upper and lower parts of the wall, Rod had to drill two holes in each stud cavity - above and below the fire wall.

My mom's house also had wall insulation blown in this year. There is a program to help low income senior citizens insulate their house. While I had insulated her attic several years ago, their assessment resulted in them adding insulation around the doors and elsewhere and then blowing insulation into the house walls.

After visiting Rod I rode bicycle home via 16th street. The city is building an extension to 16th street between 21st Ave and 30th Ave. This is out past the large water tower for north hill where there used to be only a dirt road. Whoever sited the water tower many, many years ago set the tower right in the middle of where the road would go. The new road has to curve around the water tower.

I have memories of riding my bicycle as a kid to the water tower on the dirt road. That was many decades ago and progress happens - even here. Especially now with all the oil drilling in central to western North Dakota in the Bakken Formation. There are many more jobs than people to fill them or places to live here. A few days ago I saw a TV ad advertising for workers to work on drilling rigs.

I was talking a few days ago with a guy who explained to me how the oil drilling rigs can drill horizontal holes these days. It is amazing how drilling technology, married with computers, can drill oil wells theses days. I guess they are finding so much oil the problem is getting the oil out from the fields to the refineries out of state. Apparently one farmer's first check for his mineral rights and the first month's oil production from his very productive well was $700,000. Coming soon on TV: The Norwegian Hillbillies.

Lutefisk! Lefse! Yah, you betcha!