Chief Editor’s Message

Life has changed quite a bit for me in the last 28 years – did I think I would be the Chief Editor of the CSEG RECORDER back then? Probably not.

As to writing articles or giving presentations, I doubt it even passed my mind. The truth is I was a bit of a bad boy back then.

There are lot of things I did not think I would do in my life. I always remember learning about pingos in the Arctic from Dr. Peter Gretner at the University of Calgary and always saying “Why the hell do we learn this? We will never see one.” Strange thing is, I HAVE seen a pingo and had the opportunity to explain how it formed outside of the classroom in the field.

In my Geology 561 Sequence Stratigraphy class, we learned about the Mississippi Delta which I thought was a bit of a waste, not realizing I would later spend most of my career in the Gulf of Mexico and would teach courses on Oil and Gas Exploration in the Gulf.

In my life, I have learned to never say “I will not do that” because it is like a curse and I end up doing it.

Even when Nicole Willson asked me to be the Chief Editor I was a bit surprised and really had to think about this.

First off, I would like to thank Nicole for all her work this past year. Nicole was at the helm as we moved the RECORDER to being only digital, and that was not easy. She has provided valuable leadership in difficult times, and she has agreed to step down to be the Associate Editor so I will not be left to my own devices. Nicole and the RECORDER committee will need to tolerate me with my blunders and guide me, and hopefully I can help them as well. I am looking forward to working with her and the RECORDER Committee as a team as we move forward.

My life has not been the normal life we all strive for; it has been far from it. Very few people have been asked by an Immigration officer leaving Australia, “You live in Houston, you are born in Canada, and you have a work visa in Australia. Now, you tell me what is wrong with this?” I was lucky he did not see the other work visas from other countries I had in my passport including Mexico.

As to adventures, many of you have heard me talk about my past and some of you have heard me spin a yarn or two. I think I got that by living and working in Texas and the bayous of Louisiana.

There will always be a part of me that will be in the bayous of Louisiana with the water moccasins, gators, and xylophones. Somehow it got in my blood, having been to places like La Fourche, Venice which is near the mouth of the Mississippi, and Morgan City which, as we all say for those working in the Gulf, are the jumping-off places to nowhere. Even to this day, I am a Professional Geoscientist in the State of Louisiana.

One of my most memorable moments in my life was floating down the Mississippi on a quarter boat, seeing things like the jack-up rigs, different types of cargo ships and the tug boats pushing barges up and down the river, which were all amazing to me. I was amazed floating down the Mississippi because I had read Tom Sawyer when I was young, and I would imagine, as I played on the banks of the Bow down in Fish Creek Park, if I floated down the Bow on a wooden raft I would end up in the Mississippi.

Even as a young boy I had wanderlust, always dreaming of adventures. Little did I know that the Bow emptied into Hudson Bay through the Saskatchewan River, Lake Winnipeg, and Nelson River. It wasn’t until recently that I learned that it was the Milk River that would take me to the Missouri River and into the Mississippi. Few know that a little part of our province was once a part of that famous Louisiana Purchase, and Lewis and Clark had explored it, even giving it its name.

At times, as you can see, I am like Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) in my story telling; hopefully that helps me in being the Chief Editor.

Enough about me. To write this, I went back and looked at the earlier editions of the CSEG RECORDER. I went back to the very first RECORDER and I am going to paraphrase D.W. (Dave) Paterson, who was the first Editor of the RECORDER. As you read this, I think it is still appropriate, especially in regards to the RECORDER going digital:

“I am confident in predicting that we will improve the digital edition of the RECORDER with each issue, as we gain experience. I ask you to bear with us. Initially, this venture will run on the enthusiasm of the CSEG RECORDER Committee, but its ultimate success or failure depends upon membership response, specifically in contributing copy, in critically appraising our efforts, and by offering constructive suggestions for improvement.”

I believe the CSEG is a great community. The RECORDER is here to communicate more effectively with the membership. I am hoping with your, the CSEG membership, support we can do this.

In today’s world, we talk about change and with that, cost efficiency has become a term we are all very familiar with. With cost efficiencies, we know it means sacrifice and that is why the CSEG RECORDER is now digital.

We still have many challenges ahead of us within the industry and within the CSEG. With this downturn in the economy, a lot has changed that we need to accept to be able to survive. Though there have been many changes we still need to hold onto our core goals and objectives and, that is, the RECORDER role has 3 parts that have been consistent for over 30 years:

1. Facilitate communication between the Executives and the members
2. Serve the members by providing technical content and community news
3. Build our culture and our history by recording the events of the CSEG, the messages from our leaders, and the opinions expressed by our members

We need, more than ever, to rely upon our CSEG members and their readership, despite going digital.

I encourage all of you to read each edition of the RECORDER. To help you do so, we plan to announce RECORDER topics at each CSEG luncheon talk. We will also be asking members to participate in the RECORDER by contributing information on the community, offering articles, or offering ideas unsolicited.

We also plan to utilize social media to advertise the RECORDER and its contents. One of my goals is to get more people to read the RECORDER, even though it has gone digital, and as readership goes up, to get more companies to advertise in it. Again, quoting Dave Paterson, “Advertising can enhance a publication’s appearance, and at the same time provide a valuable service to the membership.”