Hey, You Jurors For Tomorrow

If you've got jury service tomorrow in the 271st Judicial District court tomorrow in Decatur, it's been backed up by one hour. The reporting time is now 10:00 a.m.

Weather Talk

Per Update. Anyone having trouble out there?

A Couple Of Things

Let's all think of the beach. (It might be sleeting outside but I didn't care enough to look since it'll be hours before I cross a "bridge or overpass.") Now back to the picture. First, this gal is Chloe Sevigny. I had to look her up to find out who she was, and I was surprised to learn that she's been in a ton of movies that I've seen --- even one just the other night (Boys Don't Cry.) I've decided there are just too many people in this world to keep track of. Either that or I'm becoming more stupider*. Secondly, what's up with the guys in this picture? With the exception of the creepy guy in the upper left hand corner, all the rest of them are sitting around yucking it up as if a gal in a bikini is not right there in front of them. Everyone knows the drill: Grab a book, put on a pair of sunglasses, tilt your head down, and then look up to check her out. That's what made this country great. ___________ *Yeah, I know.

Well That Was Disappointing

You'd think a new video of the Crazy Mexican dressing up like Britney Spears would be the mother load of entertainment for me. But, alas, it just didn't deliver. 2009 better step it up a notch.

Random Monday Morning Thoughts

• Boy, the TV stations were in full "Arctic Blast" mode this morning.
• There has to be something to film other than a sand track on days like this.
• If I was a school superintendent, I'd be a little nervous that everything freezes up at the exact moment everyone should be arriving for school.
• There's someone playing blackjack and drinking at this very moment in Vegas. Heck, that might be going on in Rhome right now.
• I've seen Jimmy Johnson on some infomercial about stock market investing. Cheezy.
• I hate the first full week after the holidays.
• There was a story in the Star Telegram yesterday about a couple adopting nine kids -- mostly kids who were abused or neglected. Man, that makes me feel like a slug.
• I wish Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp would take over as head coach. That would make the Evil Empire more fun to hate.
• I always like the Messenger's "year end wrap-up" issue.
• Ever think about completely changing your life? Anyone have the courage to do it?
• I'm thinking about banning the 2012 doom and gloom commenter. Either he's a nutcase that believes it, or he's trying to be funny --- which he isn't.
• Any ad on a web page that automatically starts playing video or audio should be banned.
• Saw the Timothy McVeigh traffic stop video the other day (really wasn't much to it.) But I had forgotten he was stopped because he didn't have a license plate on the rear of his car. All that planning and he overlooks that detail?
• Two guys died in the crash of an old plane near Justin this weekend. I had gone through Justin about an hour before the crash. That's really not that big of coincidence, is it?
• I think the airport is the one off of 730. I always thought it was odd that there were "low flying aircraft" warnings along that road.
• I've never had a desire to get a pilot's license.
• I'll admit it. I got a big bag of nothing this morning.

My Arctic Blast Report

At 6:30 a.m. it was raining with my outside car temperature gauge reading 32 degrees. It should be seeing freezing stuff falling from the sky, but I didn't. Developing.

Incredible Random Thought

Hush a by Baby On the Tree Top, When the Wind blows The cradle will rock When the Bough breaks The Cradle will fall, Down tumbles baby, Cradle and all. What does that mean?

Our County Neighbors Have Now Gone National

Recliners? Aunt Bea around? (Thanks for the head up, Chris). Edit: Even better. It makes the Yahoo home page. (Thanks Thomas.)

The Tipping Point

I got this guy's third book for Christmas but I decided I'd read (uh, listen) to his first book before I started it. I love this stuff. It's basically an analysis of how "things" explode into national phenomenons. Described . . . The first example in the book - that of how Hush Puppies went from being a moribund brand, sold only to the un-hip, to a hugely successful national brand, thanks to a handful of downtown New York trendsetters - is a prime example of how such shifts can occur. A [handful of guys who wanted to be hip] started wearing these shoes; others saw them and copied the style, with people even driving to out-of-the-way places to buy up stocks of Hush Puppies. Then a few fashion designers used them on the walkway, and visibility reached the "tipping point". The brand then experienced a renewal that, to this day, astounds even those in the company, who had been ready to throw in the towel. The guys behind Hush Puppies even acknowledged they had nothing to do with the brands resurgence. They didn't advertise. They didn't plan for it. It just, well, happened. But the book basically tries to answer the question: How and why does stuff like that occur? After the first two chapters, I think he has a pretty good handle on it.

Random Saturday

Editor's Note: Uh, no. That's not me.

Ole Miss 47, Texas Tech 34

Well, that didn't go well. But I was distracted all game long because Ole Miss has a player named "Mike Wallace" who saw a lot of action. Every time his name was announced, all I could think about was the old guy from 60 Minutes.

Speaking Of Motorcycle Deaths (Avoided)

I was going to watch this on NYE but forgot about it. I'm normally not a fan of crazy stunts, but this is impressive. That's on the Las Vegas strip. And stick around to watch him come down.

Motorcycle Death Count

It had become pretty quiet but there was a doozy this morning in Bedford. At least the guy in the car was alright. Link.

Random Friday Morning Thoughts

• I'm still not sure why the Cotton Bowl is being played today instead of yesterday.
• I didn't leave the house yesterday. Very odd for me.
• 2008 was the second warmest year since the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1899.
• Those that laugh about global warming will always come out of the woodwork when we have an abnormally cool day.
• Let's put a TV reporter in a crowd of drunks on New Year's Ever. Yeah, that's a good idea. (Wait for the hot blonde to appear about halfway through.)
• I stayed home on New Year's Eve. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
• The girl on the left in the pic above looks like a girl I went to high school with.
• When I see things like the Montague Jail scandal (below), it drives me nuts. I have the cell phone number of at least 10 people that know exactly what is going on but there's no way they would tell me.
• The Pour House in downtown Fort Worth is shutting down. I like the Pour House.
• I was there once when a drunk girl ask me to dance (she had to be drunk.) I learned later that she had been doing that all night "because she's trying to make her boyfriend jealous."
• I may grow my goatee back out.
• I got the taco plate at Rosa's Cafe to go the other day and it lasted me dinner then the following lunch and then the following dinner. And to think most people eat that in one meal.
• Number of arrests for DWI that the Fort Worth Police made on New Year's Eve: 10
• Number of calls received by Fort Worth PD for random gunfire on the same night: 257
• What would have been ironic: A drunk driver hit by a stray bullet falling from the sky.
• Bad news for Florida Gator fans: QB Tim Tebow has apparently decided to transfer to Cincinnati. And play right tackle. And convert to Islam. Either that, or the graphics department at Fox is a mess.
• If someone show me a baby picture, I have no idea what to say other than he or she, "is so cute!" I mean, the kid could look like the Elephant Man and I'd still say that.
• Oh, my. I was watching CNN's coverage of Times Square on Wednesday night and was mildly entertained by Kathy Griffin and Anderson Cooper. But I wasn't watching when she said this shocking (and I do mean shocking) thing.
• Linday Lohan is still a Hey, Now. But, as I saw the other day for the first time, she sure was an ugly little kid in The Parent Trap.

All Inmates Transferred To Wise County

This whole story, which broke a couple of weeks ago, is very vague. But the latest development is here.

New "Decatur Beggar" Photoshop

The emailer to me has talent.

Whole New Meaning To "Baby Momma"

Dallas’ Parkland Memorial Hospital didn’t have to wait long to welcome the first baby of 2009 — a baby boy named Justin Daniel Ramirez arrived at 12:16 a.m.

Justin’s mom, a 15-year-old Dallas eighth-grader named Fernanda Rios, couldn’t stop smiling as she cradled her new son in her arms Thursday morning. “I was nervous at first about what my mom would say, but I told her I would try my best and she said okay,” Fernanda said.

Fernanda said she lives with her boyfriend, a 20-year-old construction worker, at her mom’s place, and said she plans to continue schooling as soon as her maternity leave is over. “I told the office that I was pregnant and they are going to home school me for six weeks,” she said. Teachers will come to her home two or three times a week during that period.

More (Edit: The story has been dramatically edited by the Dallas Morning News. But the comments over there, as expected, are running wild.)

Uh, the 20 year old father might want to keep this on the down-low since he committed a second degree felony.

Happy New Year

- From Spaghetti Cat