What A Beating

Sheesh. Two financial pains today:

(1) "Yahoo! Bill Pay", which I have used for ten years, has given me notice the service will be discontinued in September. Now I have to re-enter a ton of information on a new bill pay site.
(2) My MasterCard provider, Citibank, sent me a new credit card with a new number because my account "may have been compromised." Huh? So now I have to go to all sorts of places that have been doing an automatic debit every month so that I can update them with a new account number.

At this moment, I hate technology.

Hey!

I've used Yahoo! Bill Pay for 10 years. I scheduled a payment a second ago and I get this screen that says the service is being discontinued this fall. Yeah, it's no big deal to use my bank or some other service, but it's still a pain.

Holy Cow! He Really Is The Decider! (AKA "The Scooter Commuter")

President Bush, who is against activist judges, gets active in the criminal justice system by "commuting" the prison term of Scooter Libby. Wow.

Developing. . .

Edit: And anyone remember then Gov. Bush's statement when he declined to even give the now dead Karla Faye Tucker a 30 day stay of her execution?: " "When I was sworn in as the governor of Texas I took an oath of office to uphold the laws of our state, including the death penalty. My responsibility is to ensure our laws are enforced fairly and evenly without preference or special treatment . . . . She was convicted and sentenced by a jury of her peers. The role of the state is to enforce our laws and to make sure all individuals are treated fairly under those laws." (Thanks to a local lawyer for reminding me of that.)

He's Going Big Time

Former Bridgeport resident and recently elected State Representative Allen Vaught got lots of face time on CNN this weekend. If interested, check out his story here.

I Hate It When I Miss The Swimsuit Competition

Apparently the Miss Texas USA pagent was held last night.

The winner:

The runner-up:I think I'd choose the blond girl. And I'm not even a Republican.

Wow

One year ago, this headline focused on a 16 year old who survived a vicious attack in Texas. He recovered. So much so that he was able to leave on a cruise last weekend. Then he did this.

Earl Campell

The legendary running back for the Evil Empire isn't doing to well these days:

"With all the computer companies here [in Austin], not one of those companies have said, 'Would you be interested in representing our company?' " Campbell said. He then asked one of the reporters to help him get a car deal with a BMW dealership.

"I need the biggest BMW they got, black and loaded," Campbell said.

I saw Campbell in a restaurant in Austin about 15 years ago. He was in good spirits and cutting it up with everyone. During a lull, I told him how funny I thought his old snuff commercials had been. As he was leaving about a half hour later, he looked back at me over his shoulder and said "Skoal, bruther." (If you ever saw the commercial, you'd appreciate that.)

Now That's Racin'

This was over the weekend at some Grand Prix race in a country where they talk with funny accents. It's great for two reasons: (1) Two cars just run into each other at the start of the race for no apparent reason, and (2) one minute later you get to see a car freakin' fly! Nobody died. I don't know why not.

You Could Ride It All The Way To Waco

I've played golf at The Cliffs off of Possum Kingdom lake one time. A reader submitted this pic to indicate it would be a little hard to get there.

Parenting Chuckle

This is a repost from a year or so ago, but it's worth a laugh for Monday morning. Yeah, the kid screaming for dear life is funny, but I really enjoy the mother who just laughs uncontrollably about her child's plight.

Jenn Sterger says,

"During the summer, I try to take a few classes at Weatherford College where the old Walmart used to be."

I Don't Think I'm Much Of A Music Fan

But I really like Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry." (Picture from today's concert in London.)

Time Goes By

These screenshots don't do it justice, but Deon Sanders has grown a beard. A beard with some grey in it.

"T.J. Houshamazilly . . . Championship!"

ESPN and the NFL Channel run this commercial over and over. But I laugh every time.

Bridgeport Spillway

Reader submitted pics. Thanks. (Click to enlarge.) I think I'm right when I say you'll see this about once every decade.

Possum Kingdom Spillway

A faithful reader, who has access to a private plane, sent me this pic. (Random thought: Isn't "Possum Kingdom" the worst name for a lake?) He says he might send pics of the Bridgeport spillway later.

I'm Probably Too Fascinated WIth This

Lake Bridgeport rose one whole foot yesterday - now two feet above full. If they open the spillway, someone tell me because I was to see it. Edit: I may be a Lake Idiot, but I think there are two ways to let water out of the lake. One is to open the "smaller" gates which normally occurs throughout the summer. The other is to open the "big" gates which releases water that fills up that canyon under the bridge near the old dam. That is a sight to see, and I've only witnessed it once. Are the "big gates" open?

Paris Hilton Is In Hawaii

I'm angry because I'm jealous. I have to settle for Wise County Park.