My little angel Emma turned three on April 14th, and yes she managed to follow tradition by blowing out all three candles. A great time was had by all and I was thankful that the storms in Texas did not delay my getting back home in time. The weather has continued to beat up Texas with twisters and golf ball sized hail, but thankfully the massive fires in Georgia appear to be under control.

The biggest media storm was the firing of “shock jock” Don Imus over his totally offensive remarks about the girl’s college basketball team. This guy would appear to have been caught in a time warp, asleep in the saddle. Personally I hope the media attention will encourage networks to ban many of all the vulgarities that foul the airways in some rap and hip hop music.

The next week was followed by the tragic shootings of the students at Virginia Tec. I hope there will be lessons learned from this tragedy to prevent similar occurrences, given the killers state of mind and his easy access to weapons. The right to bear arms was written in a time when guns were limited to shooting one bullet before reloading. It’s time to wake and smell the coffee America. Automatic weapons lead me to believe that the gun laws must change if we are to prevent these tragic events in the future.

On a different note, here’s some news from around the globe:

1. Former Russian world chess champ Kasparov is trying his hand at political rallies against the Kremlin, and as a result there have been numerous clashes with riot police. Bad move Kasparov, I think you are going to get check mated.
2. With that said, it was even worse news to hear of the death of Boris Yeltisn, who was the first democratically elected leader in Russia, and was regarded as the architect that caused the fall of communism. His funeral is today (April 25, 2007).
3. The Economist says the upcoming French election is the most unpredictable in 50 years. They had a whopping 85% voter turnout and it’s down to two candidates in the final ensuing election.
4. And there is chaos in Nigeria with their elections. Polling stations have been stormed, election officials murdered, and ballots destroyed and stolen. The obvious result will be that the newly elected President will declare these elections as fair and free, and MEND rebels will revert back to the cash-flowing business of kidnapping foreign oil workers. Business as usual!
5. Pakistan leader General Musharraf is strong-arming his judicial system and has fired the country’s Supreme Court chief justice, which has created riots across the country. Another great move Musharraf!
6. The good news is that the 15 hostage navy crew was released by Iran as a “gift” to the UK. The ludicrous news is that UK Defense Secretary Browne encouraged these sailors to sell their stories to the media. He then rescinded this because of public outcry. I think he will soon be holding hands with Tony Blair as they walk through the exit door at number ‘10′!
7. And the oil price is hovering towards the upper $60’s, which is hurting consumer’s wallets at the pump. With the continued uncertainty in Nigeria, and North Korea playing its own game of chess with on/off agreements for cancelling its nuclear programs, who knows where the price is heading?An interesting factoid is that their midget leader, Pyongyang, may have a gambling fetish to add to his list of idiosyncrasies. One of the highlights in the US/Korean negotiations has been a frozen bank account in Macau, which has a balance of $25 million!! Now why would North Korea need a bank account in the gambling capital of Asia?

And finally, I would like to give special thanks to the entire Tekoil team and all of our wonderful shareholders. During the past couple of years we have been in some tough spots, but you have stood by me regardless of the obstacles. I believe that one of the secrets to success is to hang on when most others would let go. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in the Tekoil dream. I couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.